Iron (III) oxide Guide, Meaning , Facts, Information and Description
| General | |
|---|---|
| Name | Iron (III) oxide |
| Chemical formula | Fe2O3 |
| Appearance | Red powder |
| Physical | |
| Formula weight | 159.7 amu |
| Melting point | 1838 K (1565 °C;) |
| Density | 5.2 ×10³ kg/m³ |
| Crystal structure | Corundum |
| Solubility | insoluble |
| Thermochemistry | |
| ΔfH0liquid; | ? kJ/mol |
| ΔfH0solid | |
| S0liquid, 1 bar | ? J/mol·K |
| S0solid | 87 J/mol·K |
| Safety | |
| Ingestion | Extremely large or sustained doses may cause iron poisoning. |
| Inhalation | Dust may cause mechanical irritation. Long term exposure to dust may cause mild pneumoconiosis. |
| Skin | No adverse effect reported. |
| Eyes | May cause mechanical irritation. Long term exposure may stain the cornea. |
| More info | Hazardous Chemical Database |
|
SI units were used where possible. Unless otherwise stated, standard conditions were used.
Disclaimer and references | |
The mineral form of ferric oxide is hematite; it is mined as the main ore of iron.
Iron (III) oxide is often used in magnetic storage, for example in the magnetic layer of floppy disks. These consist of a thin sheet of MylarŪ plastic, coated with Iron (III) oxide. The particles can be magnetised to represent binary data. Magnetic Ink Character Recognition also uses Iron (III) oxide compounds, suspended in an ink which can be read by special scanning hardware.
The CAS number of ferric oxide is 1309-37-1.