NANOSYSTEMS: PHYSICS, CHEMISTRY, MATHEMATICS, 2013, 4 (2), P. 196–205
X-RAY DIFFRACTION STUDY OF THE PHASE AND MORPHOLOGY CHANGES IN YTTRIUM COMPOUND NANOPARTICLES
R. P. Ermakov, V.V. Voronov, P. P. Fedorov – A. M. Prokhorov General Physics Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia; x-ray_diffraction@mail.ru
In the present experimental study, the precipitation of basic yttrium nitrate from aqueous solutions allowed the optimization of conditions for the preparation of loosely aggregated Y2(OH)5NO3·1.5H2O, the thermal decomposition of which, under controlled annealing, permitted the synthesis of yttria nanoparticles with desirable microstructure. The latter material can be widely used to manufacture yttria optical ceramics. Y2(OH)5NO3·1.5H2O thermolysis occurs via the formation of a metastable hexagonal Y2O3 based phase (a = 8.04, c = 12.37 A° ).
Keywords: yttrium oxide, optical ceramics, X-ray diffraction phase analysis.