Insights into the sonochemical decomposition of Fe(CO)5:: theoretical and experimental understanding of the role of molar concentration and power density on the reaction yield

The present work analyses, in detail, the optimization of a sonochemical process with respect to concentration of precursor and power supplied in a system. This is due to that even a small change in power dramatically changes the high-energy conditions created with the bubble collapse. A model reaction that has been considered for this purpose involves the decomposition of Fe(CO)(5) in decalin solvent as this reaction is strongly influenced by the cavitation conditions. Sonochemical treatment of this carbonyl results in the formation of amorphous Fe2O3, which on heat treatment gives nanocrystalline Fe2O3. It has been observed that concentration and power density parameters play an important role to obtain higher decomposition of Fe(CO)(5) and hence higher yield of the amorphous Fe2O3 product. Also, using the experimentally observed results, a correlation (polynomial) has been developed. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.