Synthesis of yttrium aluminum garnet by reverse strike precipitation

Yttrium aluminum garnet (YAG) powders were synthesized by normal and reverse strike precipitation from a mixed solution containing aluminum and yttrium nitrates. The precipitates were characterized by FTIR, DTA, and TGA techniques. The amorphous precipitates were crystallized under various atmospheres (air, argon, hydrogen) at different temperatures and the product analyzed by x-ray diffraction. Only reverse strike precipitation followed by crystallization in hydrogen consistently yielded phase pure YAG.