Iron Oxide: Structure, Properties, Preparation & Uses

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Arpita Srivastava

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Iron oxide is an inorganic chemical compound that occurs naturally as a mineral magnet rejection. Its chemical formula is Fe2O3. Iron oxide is one of three cast-iron oxides composed of iron and oxygen.

  • Iron oxide is also popular with the name ferric oxide.
  • This compound is considered important in many geological and biological processes. 
  • It is one of the primary sources of the steel industry.
  • Iron oxide can be used as iron ores, pigments and catalysts.
  • When you are using the compound in food colouring, then its E number is E172.
  • In this article, we have covered various topics related to iron oxide, such as its structure, properties, and important points.

Key Terms: Iron, Iron Oxide, Oxygen, Iron (iii) oxide, Metal, Transition metal, Magnetite, Hematite, Wusite, Maghemite, Ferric Oxide, Oxygen, Catalysts


What is Iron Oxide?

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Iron Oxide is a chemical compound that blends iron and oxygen. It can be classified into sixteen types, and the most well-known type is rust (a type of iron(iii) oxide). It is permeated in nature and is used in paints, coatings, and colored concrete.

  • Iron oxide is a transition metal oxide that has varied stoichiometric and crystalline structures, such as wüstite (FeO), hematite (α-Fe2O3), maghemite (ν-Fe2O3), and magnetite (Fe3O4).
  • It is useful as a curative supplement and an antioxidant compound.
  • Studies have shown that it gives blood iron (Fe) to microorganism cells.
  • Some chief iron oxides are goethite, akageneite, lepidocrocite, magnetite, and hematite.
  • Iron oxide is one of the important ingredients in Calamine lotion, which is used to treat mild itchiness.

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Iron Oxide Structure

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Iron oxide is acquired in multiple polymorphs. As the chief one, α, iron uses the octahedral coordination geometry. It depicts that each Fe centre is connected to 6 oxygen ligands. 

  • In the γ polymorph, a few of the Fe rests on the tetrahedral sites, with four oxygen ligands.
  • The spending center molecules are associated with six oxygen ligands.
  • Iron oxide exhibits octahedral or tetrahedral coordination geometry. 
Structure of Iron Oxide 

Structure of Iron Oxide 


Properties of Iron Oxide

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The physical and chemical properties of Iron Oxide are as follows:

Physical Properties of Iron Oxide

The physical properties of iron oxide are as follows:

  • Iron oxide is a red-brown odourless compound which is insoluble in water.
  • The compound is also soluble in sugar, diluted acids, and aqueous tartaric acid.
  • The molecular weight of the compound is 159.69 g/mol.
  • The density of iron oxide is 5.242 g/dm3.
  • The melting point of the substance is 1475- 1565 °C.
  • It has an oxidation state of +3 and decomposes when boiled. 

Physical Properties of Iron Oxide are tabulated below:

Category Data
Odour Odourless
Solubility Indissoluble in water, dissolvable in strong acid
Appearance Red-brown solid
Oxidation State +3
Hydrogen Bond Donor 3
Covalently - Bonded Unit 5

Chemical Properties of Iron Oxide

Following are the Chemical Properties of Iron Oxide:

  • The iron oxide will respond with water and structure iron hydroxide.

Fe2O3 + H2O → Fe (OH)3

  • It will respond with the sulphuric corrosive to shape water and iron (III) sulphate.

Fe2O3 + H2SO4 → Fe2(SO4)3 + H2O

Chemical Data of Iron Oxide are tabulated below:

Chemical symbol Fe2O3
Group Oxygen 16 Iron 8
Electronic configuration Oxygen [Ar] 3d64s2 Iron [He] 2s22p4

Preparation of Iron Oxide

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Iron oxide with suitable surface chemistry is prepared by several techniques, such as wet chemical, dry methods, or microbiological techniques.

Physical Techniques

These are extensive systems that suffer from the shortcoming to restrain the size of particles in the nanometre range.

Chemical Preparation Techniques

These techniques are simple, tractable, and effective, in which the size, layout, and even the shape of the NPs can be achieved. Iron oxides can be integrated by the coprecipitation of Fe2+ and Fe3+ by the addition of a base.

  • The size, shape, and composition of iron NPs synthesized by chemical methods depend on the kind of salt used, Fe2+ and Fe3+ ratio, pH, and ionic strength.

Heating

In this process, hydrated iron(III) oxide, which can be written as FeO(OH), is dehydrated at around 200 °C.

2FeO(OH)→Fe2O3+H2O


Uses of Iron Oxide

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The vital utilization of iron oxide are as follows: 

  • Magnetic reverberation imaging is used to improve the difference at extremely low fixations in the nanomolar range for concentrating on tumours.
  • It is used as a targeted transmission vehicle.
  • The compound is also used as a drug delivery cover for nanoscale anti-cancer drugs.
  • Iron oxide is also used for magnetic data storage. 
  • Rouge, a fine powder of the compound, is also used as a cosmetic in lenses and other jewellery items. 
  • Calamine lotion also contains 0.5% iron oxide that is used for itching.

Things to Remember

  • The precipitation method is the best, most modest, and most straightforward pathway (strategy) to obtain iron oxide particles. 
  • Cost-adequacy of the iron NP preparation method relies upon the result and its application.
  • Fitting the piece of iron oxides, specific adsorption of various metal particles can likewise be instigated.
  • It is used in the plastic industry, ink industry and cosmetic industry.
  • They are presently viewed as exceptionally appealing for adsorbing or recuperating metal particles from regular water streams or modern wastes.

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Sample Questions

Ques: How does iron oxide react with sulphuric acid? (3 marks)

Ans: Iron is a changing metal with a negative standard decrease likely value. Hence, its oxide, i.e., Iron oxide is essential in nature, as it structures fundamental arrangement when broken down in the water. 

So, in response to solid corrosive like sulphuric corrosive, iron oxide gives iron sulphate, water, and hydrogen gas. 

Fe2O3 + H2SO4 →  FeSO4 + H2O + H2

Ques: Why is iron oxide heated with carbon? (2 marks)

Ans: The iron mineral is dominatingly iron oxide, and coke is prevalently carbon, so when you blend metal and coke in a major pinnacle, set it land and blow it hard with air, the carbon diminishes the iron oxide to press and carbon dioxide and there… you have iron.

Ques: Is hematite rust because it is iron oxide? (2 marks)

Ans: Iron (III) oxide is identified in the mineral state as hematite, which is the chief form of iron ore. It is also known commonly as iron oxide or ferric oxide and is what is colloquially called rust when connecting to the corrosion of iron objects. 

Ques: Is iron oxide fuel for spaceships? (1 mark)

Ans: Iron oxide is rust. It's useful for barely anything. In case it was a fuel for spaceships we unquestionably wouldn't play with costly and risky fluid hydrogen.

Ques: How can you remove iron oxide? (2 marks)

Ans: Iron oxide (rust) can be diminished back to iron with a strong acid, normal, but it very much depends where said rust is as far as HOW you’re going to go about performing that. In most cases, a solvent of strong acid in water (HNO3, H2SO4) should do it.

Ques: How do I dissolve iron oxide? (3 marks)

Ans: If you're looking for the dissolvability from iron oxide in water: To the normally happening iron oxide, you can't. Iron oxide is water insoluble. One of the justifications behind this is that in the Fe2O3 atoms the Fe particle is in the +3 state, while the O is in the - 2 state, so for the water to break down it, the singular water particles would need to all in all have a more grounded pull than both the Fe+3 particles and the 0-2 particles. Water simply needs more appreciation to tear them separated from each other.

Ques: What is the chemical formula for iron oxide? (2 marks)

Ans: Chemical formula for iron oxide is as follows:
  • Iron (III) oxide is Fe2O3.
  • Iron (II) oxide is FeO.

Ques: What is another name for Iron oxide? (2 marks)

Ans: It is determined by the level of oxidation.

  • FeO is called “wüstite”.
  • Fe2O3is called “hematite”.
  • Fe3O4 is called “magnetite”.

Ques: Is iron oxide compound toxic to humans? (2 marks)

Ans: Inhaling iron oxide can have an effect on your health. Fever from metal fumes can be brought on by exposure to iron oxide vapors. With symptoms of a metallic taste, fever, chills, pains, tightness in the chest, and cough, this illness resembles the flu. On the other hand, ferrous oxide (FeO) is extremely reactive and combustible and can catch fire in the air.

Ques: Why Fe3O4 formula is not equivalent Fe2O3? (2 marks)

Ans: Both the compound are iron oxides. Fe3O4 is a mixed oxide in which Fe is present in both + 2 and + 3 oxidation states, whereas Fe2O3 is a simple oxide in which Fe is only + 3. Conversely, we produce Fe3O4 as FeO. Iron Oxide (III) is represented by the symbol Fe2O3, and Iron Oxide (II, III) by the symbol Fe3O4

Ques: How iron oxide is used in polishing industry? (3 marks)

Ans: "Jeweler’s rouge," "red rouge," or simply "rogue" refers to a very fine powder of ferric oxide. It has been used traditionally as a cosmetic and to apply the last coat of polish to metallic jewelry and lenses. Even though this rouge cuts more slowly than some contemporary polishes, such as cerium(IV) oxide, jewelers still employ it to fabricate optics and get a superior quality. When polishing gold, the rouge slightly stains the gold, which adds to the piece's final appearance.


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