Morphology change of α-Fe2O3 nanocubes induced by thermal treatments: GISAXS study

GISAXS has been used to study thermally induced morphology change of submonolayer α-Fe₂O₃ nanocubes coated on Si(100) substrate. While morphology of nanocube was intact after annealing at 400 °C in vacuum, ambient environment annealing at the same temperature altered morphology of nanocube toward a more rounded shape. It is evident that morphology of nanoparticle is affected by annealing environment and uniform shape nanoparticle provides unique opportunity to trace the morphology changes. In-situ, ambient pressure measurement of GISAXS has great potential to trace morphology change throughout various thermal and chemical treatments.