Precipitations by the forced hydrolysis of 0.2 M FeCl3 aqueous solutions between 2 and 72 hours in the presence of 1% sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) were investigated. In the absence of SDS a direct phase transformation ß-FeOOH → α-Fe2O3 via dissolution/recrystallization occured in the precipitation system. In the presence of SDS, α-FeOOH as an intermediate phase precipitated and, with a prolonged time of forced hydrolysis, also transformed to α-Fe2O3 via the dissolution/recrystallization mechanism. On the basis of Mössbauer spectra it was concluded that in the presence of SDS, α-Fe2O3 phase possessed a lower degree of crystallinity. In this precipitation process the competition between the stability of Fe(III)-dodecyl sulphate, on one side, and the formation of iron oxide phases, on the other, also played an important role. FE SEM revealed that the big α-Fe2O3 particles possessed the substructure. The elongation of primary α-Fe2O3 particles produced in the presence of SDS was noticed. This effect can be assigned to the preferential adsorption of dodecyl sulphate groups on nuclei and crystallites of FeOOH and α-Fe2O3 phase during the forced hydrolysis of FeCl3 solutions.
p-NN′-phenylenebismaleimide, a specific cross-linking agent for F-actin