Effects of preparation method on the properties of Al/Fe ₂O ₃ nano-thermites

Al/Fe ₂O ₃ nano-thermites were prepared by using ultrasonic, mechanical milling and sol-gel methods, respectively. The influence of three kinds of preparation methods on the structures and properties of the final thermites, such as crystal structure, particle size, morphology, surface area and thermal performances, were studied. The results indicate that raw materials were simply mixed at nanoscale by ultrasonic method, part of the Al particles were breakdown by using milling method, the average particle size of Al decrease and the formation of core-shell structure of Al/Fe ₂O ₃ by sol-gel method effectively protected the Al, leading to a higher surface area and heat release of 896J·g ^-1.