Synthesis of La0.9Sr0.1Ga0.8Mg0.2O2.85 by successive freeze-drying and self-ignition of a hydroxypropylmethyl cellulose solution

The present paper reports the synthesis of La0.9Sr0.1Ga0.8Mg0.2O2.85 perovskite powders by a method combining freeze-drying and self-ignition of an aqueous solution of metallic nitrates containing hydroxypropylmethyl cellulose. The precursor powder obtained after self-ignition was submitted to various thermal treatments and the resulting powders were characterized by X-ray diffraction, electron microscopy, nitrogen adsorption-desorption isotherm analysis, mercury porosimetry and laser granulometry. It turns out that this synthesis method yields single-phase powders with good homogeneity and sinterability properties. The precursor powder treated at 1200 degrees C presents a coral-like structure which collapses under application of low uniaxial pressure, resulting in a narrow grain size distribution suitable for sintering (98.8% relative density for a pellet sintered at 1400 degrees C during 1 h). The fact that no milling step is necessary is an additional advantage of this method, which shows promising prospects for the synthesis of other multicationic oxides. (c) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.