Synthesis of Alpha Ferrous Oxalate Dihydrate from Ferrotitaniferous Mineral Sands via Hot Pressurized Aqueous Oxalic Acid: Kinetics and Characterization

Ferrous oxalate dihydrate is a versatile organic mineral with applications across fields. However, little is known about the feasibility of its synthesis directly from iron-bearing minerals using binary subcritical water (sCW) systems and its associated kinetics. In this study, the sCW+oxalic acid system at either 115 degrees C or 135 degrees C was investigated as a reaction medium for ferrous oxalate dihydrate (alpha-FeC2O4 center dot 2H(2)O) synthesis, starting from ferrotitaniferous sands. The kinetics of the synthesis reaction were studied, and the physicochemical characterization of the as-synthetized ferrous oxalates was performed. Overall, the sCW synthesis was temperature-dependent, following second-order reaction kinetics according to the proposed precipitation pathway. A high reaction rate constant, significantly high yields (up to 89%), and reduced reaction times (2-8 h) were evident at 135 degrees C. The as-synthetized product corresponded to the monoclinic alpha-FeC2O4 center dot 2H(2)O, showed relatively high specific surface areas (from 31.9 to 33.7 m(2)center dot g(-1)), and exhibited band gap energies within the visible light range (similar to 2.77 eV). These results suggest that alpha-FeC2O4 center dot 2H(2)O can be synthesized using an organic dicarboxylic acid and iron-rich, widely available, low-cost mineral precursors. In addition, the as-prepared alpha-FeC2O4 center dot 2H(2)O could be further optimized and tested for catalytic and visible light photocatalytic applications.