A New Approach to Prepare LuFeMgO4

Abstract

A new method for the production of LuFeMgO4 based on the combustion reaction of a gel-like precursor prepared from metal nitrates and fossil fuels has been proposed. The possibility to prepare this oxide from stoichiometric compositions of metal nitrates with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and glycine has been studied. The adiabatic combustion temperatures Tad have been estimated for the systems under consideration. The combustion products of PVA-nitrate and glycine-nitrate compositions before and after their heat treatment have been studied using X-ray diffraction analysis and IR spectroscopy. It has been established that the combustion reaction products of the PVA-nitrate composition are an X-ray amorphous powder, while those of the glycine-nitrate composition are a mixture of nanocrystalline oxides containing 52.5 wt % LuFeMgO4. According to X-ray diffraction and SEM data, 4-h annealing of this mixture at 1300°C leads to the formation of a single-phase LuFeMgO4 powder with a layered microstructure and a grain size of about 1–2 μm.