Microstructure and total oxidising capacity for m-xylene of La_{1-xCa_{xCoO_{3 nanoparticles synthesised by combustion method

Nanoparticles of La1–xCaxCoO3 (x = 0, 0.1, 0.3 and 0.5) perovskites were synthesised by the combustion method using glycine agent and corresponding metal nitrates. The perovskites were characterised by thermogravimetric and differential thermal analysis (TG-DTA) and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) adsorption isotherms. The microstructure of samples was characterised by X-ray diffraction (XRD) combined with transmission electron microscopy (TEM), selected area electron diffraction (SAED) and energy dispersive X-ray (EDX). The grain size ranges from 20 nm to 30 nm. A high surface area from 15 m2/g to 21 m2/g was achieved for samples annealed at relatively low temperature (600°C). The perovskites exhibit a good catalytic activity in total oxidation of m-xylene at low reaction temperature.