Facile Synthesis of Iron Silicates

Initiated by a serendipitous finding during the preparation of silica-supported nanoparticles, a novel method for synthesizing iron(III) silicates was developed. The known procedures to generate synthetic iron silicates typically require hydrothermal conditions with temperatures in the range of 1000 °C and pressures in the kilo bar zone. Surprisingly, we were able to produce the phyllosilicates Fe₂[Si₄O₁₀](OH)₂ (Ferripyrophilite) from Fe powder, a silica source such as SBA-15 and water at 100 °C in a simple glass flask under air. The material has an ultrathin two-dimensional (2D) nanosheet morphology, shows very high thermal stability (up to 800 °C), and provides interesting potential for catalytic applications, including activity in ammonia synthesis.

Original Publikation: Yunxiang Qiao, Nils Theyssen, Bernd Spliethoff, Jan Folke, Claudia Weidenthaler, Wolfgang Schmidt, Gonzalo Prieto, Cristina Ochoa-Hernández, Eckhard Bill, Shengfa Ye, Holger Ruland, Ferdi Schüth, Walter Leitner (2021) Synthetic ferripyrophyllite: preparation, characterization and catalytic application. Dalton Trans., 2021,50, 850-857.
https://doi.org/10.1039/D0DT03125A