Preparation of ReFeO₃ nanocrystalline powders by auto‐combustion of citric acid gel

Abstract

Abstract Autocombustion of citric acid gel was employed to prepare ReFeO 3 (Re = Gd, Nd) nanocrystalline powders. The phase identification and lattice parameters were investigated by the X‐ray diffraction (XRD). Field‐emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) investigations were carried out to examine the morphology and average size of these powders. Several one phonon lines, two‐magnon excitation, and two‐phonon scattering have been assigned in their Raman spectra. Both NdFeO 3 and GdFeO 3 nanocrystalline powders were single ReFeO 3 phase, which are agglomerated with average crystallite size of 70–90 nm. The investigations indicated that the autocombustion of citric acid gel method is an effective technology to prepare ReFeO 3 nanocrystalline powders. Copyright © 2009 Curtin University of Technology and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.