Synthesis of antimony oxide nano-particles by vapor transport and condensation

This paper reports the synthesis of Sb2O3 nanoparticles by vapor transport and condensation of metallic antimony in oxidizing environment. Granular antimony inside an alumina crucible is placed in the middle of a tube furnace at 550 C with air flow rate of 400 mL/min. Al foil, glass and Si-wafer, which are used as substrates, are placed downstream of the gas flow at a temperature of about 250 C for the deposition of antimony oxide. The deposited antimony oxides on the substrates and the oxidized granular antimony in the alumina crucible are examined with field emission scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffractometer and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The deposited antimony oxide consists of Sb2O3 nano-particles, while the oxidized granular antimony in the crucible consists of SbO2. The mechanism of the formation of Sb2O3 nano-particles is analyzed based on oxidation reaction thermodynamics and kinetics