Kinetics of synthesizing process for obtaining iron nanopowder by chemical-metallurgy method under isothermal conditions

In this work the kinetics of synthesizing process of metallic iron nanopowder by hydrogen reduction from α-FeOOH hydroxide under isothermal conditions were studied. α-FeOOH nanopowder was prepared in advance by chemical deposition from aqueous solutions of iron nitrate Fe(NO3)3 (10 wt. %) and alkali NaOH (10 wt. %) at room temperature, pH = 11, under the condition of continuous stirring. The hydrogen reduction process of α-FeOOH nanopowder under isothermal conditions was carried out in a tube furnace in the temperature range from 390 to 470 °C. The study of the crystal structure and composition of the powders was performed by X-ray phase analysis. The specific surface area S of the samples was measured using BET method by low-temperature nitrogen adsorption. The average particle size D of powders was determined via the measured S value. The size characteristics and morphology of the particles were investigated by transmission and scanning electron microscopes. The calculation of the kinetic parameters of the hydrogen reduction process of α-FeOOH under isothermal conditions was carried out by the Gray-Weddington model and Arrhenius equation. It is shown that the rate constant of reduction at 470 °C is approximately 2.2 times higher than in the case at 390 °C. The effective activation energy of synthesizing process of iron nanopowder by hydrogen reduction from α-FeOOH was ~38 kJ/mol, which indicates a mixed reaction mode. In this case, the kinetics overall process is limited by both the kinetics of the chemical reaction and the kinetics of diffusion, respectively, an expedient way to accelerate the process by increasing the temperature or eliminate the diffusion layer of the reduction product by intensive mixing. It is show that Fe nanoparticles obtained by hydrogen reduction of its hydroxide at 410 °C, corresponding to the maximum specific rate of the reduction process, are mainly irregular in shape, evenly distributed, the size of which ranges from several dozens to 100 nm with an average value of 75 nm. © 2021, Ore and Metals Publishing house. All rights reserved.