Formation of monodispersed colloidal cubic haematite particles in ethanol + water solutions

Cubic particles of colloidal haematite of narrow size distributions were prepared by aging ferric chloride solutions in water + ethanol mixtures. It was shown that α-Fe2O3 formed by phase transformation from β-FeOOH precipitated first. The kinetics of this conversion were followed at different temperatures, pH and chloride concentrations. The role of alcohol in the studied system is discussed and the rate of growth explained in terms of the theory of Burton, Cabrera and Frank.