Raman microspectroscopy of some iron oxides and oxyhydroxides

Hematite (alpha-Fe2O3), magnetite (Fe3O4), wustite (FeO), maghemite (gamma-Fe2O3), goethite (alpha-FeOOH), lepidocrocite (gamma-FeOOH) and delta-FeOOH were studied by Raman microscopy. Such compounds have already been studied by Raman spectroscopy, but there are some disagreements in the reported data. Here,]Raman microscopy was employed to investigate the laser power dependence of the spectra of these oxides and oxyhydroxides. Low laser power was used for the reference spectra in order to minimize the risks of spectral changes due to sample degradation. The results obtained show that increasing laser power causes the characteristic bands of hematite to show up in the spectra of most of the compounds studied whereas the hematite spectrum undergoes band broadening and band shifts. (C) 1997 John Wiley he Sons, Ltd.