Facet Effects of α-Fe 2 O 3 with Different Morphologies on the Thermal Decomposition of Ammonium Erchlorate

Hematite α-Fe 2 O 3 with microrods and nanoparticles, corresponding to the predominantly exposed (110) and (104) facets, respectively, were prepared using a hydrothermal-annealing approach. The crystal plane effects of prepared α-Fe 2 O 3 on the catalytic performance towards thermal decomposition of ammonium perchlorate (AP) were investigated. Addition 2 wt% α-Fe 2 O 3 microrods and nanoparticles to AP reduce the high temperature decomposition (HTD) by 95 and 53 °C and the corresponding activation energy decreases to 170.0 and 199.1 kJ mol −1 , respectively. The big differences in the HTD of 42 °C and in the activation energy of 29.1 kJ mol −1 reveal remarkable facet effects. Compared to α-Fe 2 O 3 nanoparticles with high exposed (104) facet, the much better catalytic activity of α-Fe 2 O 3 microrods is related to the high exposed (110) facet with a larger amount of surface oxygen vacancies which are highly advantageous for improving the electron-hole separations and their transfers in surface. Graphical Abstract Hematite α-Fe 2 O 3 with microrods and nanoparticles predominantly exposing (110) and (104) facets, respectively, were prepared and their catalytic performance towards thermal decomposition of AP were investigated. The α-Fe 2 O 3 microrods show much better catalytic performance than α-Fe 2 O 3 nanoparticles due to the (110) facet with a larger amount of surface oxygen vacancies