Abstract
Poly
o
-aminophenol (POAP) was prepared by the oxidative polymerization of
o
-aminophenol with potassium dichromate as an oxidant. The results showed that
o
-amniophenol polymerizes in linear mode. The effect of doping CoCl
2
, NiCl
2,
MnCl
2
, FeCl
3
, and CuCl
2
on the spectral, thermal and optical properties of POAP has been studied. The thermal stability of doped POAP differs from the pure POAP according to the doped ion. The optical band gaps of the doped POAP are smaller than the pure POAP. Fe doped POAP has been used as a precursor for hematite (α-Fe
2
O
3
) nanoparticles by thermal decomposition route. The obtained (α-Fe
2
O
3
) nanoparticles have been characterized by XRD and HRTEM. The average size of the prepared nanoparticles was estimated as 53 nm. The optical band gap of the obtained α-Fe
2
O
3
is larger than the bulk.