Nanosized LaCo0.6Fe0.4O3 perovskites synthesized by citrate sol gel auto combustion method

Abstract

LaCo0.6Fe0.4O3 (LCFO) nanopowder was synthesized from constituent metal nitrates, citric acid and ethylene glycol by citrate sol gel autocombustion method and calcined at different temperatures. The powders were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDAX) and Fourier transform infrared spectra (FTIR), whereas dielectric properties were investigated with LCR-meter. The FTIR spectra, taken for the xerogel and the sample calcined at 1000?C, confirm that the organic groups were removed during calcination and oxide structure was formed. The XRD result shows that LCFO has rhombhohedral crystal structure with R-3C space group and forms single phase after calcination at 600?C. The activation energy of crystallite growth, determined from the Arrhenius plot, was 17?2 kJ/mol. Surface feature studies of the powders were obtained from SEM. At 1000?C, dense microstructure with wellshaped grain boundaries was obtained and the average grain size was around 400 nm. EDAX confirms the elemental composition. Finally, from the dielectric studies, it was found that the dielectric constant (?r) as well as dielectric loss tangent (tan ?) decreases with increase in frequency.