[ajax0604]

I'm studying corrosion at the moment and was wondering if anyone could explain the mechanism behind the dehydration of Fe(OH)3 to Fe2O3?

[DevaDevil]

Fe(OH)₃ can also be written as FeO(OH).H₂O

I am speculating as I am no expert on the matter, but seen in line with the observation that iron 3 oxide forms out of iron hydroxyoxide by heating, I would expect that the crystallized water will evaporate first, followed by a recombination of 2 hydroxide ions into water and an oxide, with the evaporation of said water.

there is indeed no oxidation/reduction going on, just dehydration