An Investigation on Thermal Stability of Fe5C2 Nanoparticles

Fe5C2 is a recently attentioned iron carbide with high saturation magnetization and suitable chemical inertness that is known to have applications in different fields of engineering and medicine. One of the most important challenges in usage, is thermal stability of iron carbide nanoparticles. In this research, Fe5C2 nanoparticles were synthesized through a wet chemical route. XRD and TEM techniques were used to characterize chemical and morphological features of the sample at room temperature, respectively. TEM micrograph demonstrated the spherical morphology and the average size of the nanoparticles to be 30 nm. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) was performed to study the thermal behavior of this magnetic carbide. The activation energy of the phase decomposition was evaluated to be 139.51 kJ utilizing Ozawa method. After heating, XRD test was repeated to investigate phase changes at high temperature. Finally, X-ray diffraction pattern proved the conversion of Hagg iron carbide to iron and magnetite after heat treatment.