Room-temperature synthesis of nanometric α-Bi2O3

Nanometric Bi2O3 powder was successfully synthesized by applying the method based on self-propagating room temperature reaction (SPRT) between bismuth nitrates and sodium hydroxide. X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD) and Rietveld's structure refinement method were applied to characterize prepared powder. It revealed that synthesized material is a single phase monoclinic alpha-Bi2O3 (space group P2(1)/c with cell parameters a = 5.84605(4)angstrom, b = 8.16339(6) angstrom, c = 7.50788(6) angstrom and beta = 112.9883(8)). Powder particles were of nanometric size (about 50 nm). Raman spectral studies conformed that the obtained powder is single phase alpha-Bi2O3. Specific surface area of obtained powder was measured by Brunauer-Emmet-Teller (BET) method. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.