Iron(III) oxide - also known as ferric oxide, red iron oxide, synthetic maghemite, rouge,or rust - is one of several oxidecompounds of iron, and is most notable for its ferromagnetic properties. Its chemical formula is Fe2O3.
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 Mylar® plastic, coated with iron(III) oxide. The particles can be magnetised to represent binary data. MICR (Magnetic Ink Character Recognition) also uses iron(III) oxide compounds, suspended in an ink which can be read by special scanning hardware.
The majority of recorded information on earth (such as text and photographs) is stored in the form of magnetization patterns on a thin layer of iron(III) oxide. This is probably because the cost per bit of iron-based magnetic media is currently far less than the cost per bit of any known alternative, such as optical discs, paperbooks, or microfilm.
Iron(III) oxide — also known as ferricoxide, red ironoxide, synthetic maghemite, colcothar, or simply rust — is one of several oxidecompounds of iron, and is most notable for its ferromagnetic properties.
The mineral form of ferricoxide is hematite; it is mined as the main ore of iron.
Ferricoxide or iron sesquioxide, Fe303, constitutes the valuable ores red haematite and specular iron; the minerals brown haematite or limonite, and gthite and also ironrust are hydrated forms.
Ferricoxide is employed as a pigment, as jewellers rouge, and for polishing metals.
Ferric suiphide, FcfSn is obtained by gently heating a mixture of its Constituent elements, or by the action of sulphuretted hydrogen on ferricoxide at temperatures below 1000.