A simple way to prepare nanosized LaFeO 3 powders at room temperature

Abstract Nanosized LaFeO 3 powders of 30 nm particle size were directly prepared by sol-gel auto-combustion at room temperature. The overall process involves three steps: formation of homogeneous sol; formation of dried gel; and combustion of the dried gel. Experiments revealed that LaFeO 3 dried gel derived from citrate and nitrate sol exhibits self-propagating combustion at room temperature once it is ignited in air. After auto-combustion, the gel directly transforms into nanosized LaFeO 3 particles. The auto-combustion was considered as a heat-induced exothermic oxidation–reduction reaction between nitrate ions and carboxyl group. Differential thermal analysis–thermogravimetry (DTA–TG) was used to study the decomposition of the precursor. The structure of the nanosized LaFeO 3 powders was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD).