Synthesis of Nano-Structured La0.6Sr0.4Co0.2Fe0.8O3 Perovskite by Co-Precipitation Method

Nano-structured lanthanum strontium cobalt ferrite, La0.6Sr0.4Co0.2Fe0.8O3 (LSCF), was successfully synthesized via co-precipitation method using metal nitrates as starting materials. Effects of precipitating agent and calcination temperature on the phase composition and morphology of synthesized powders were systematically studied using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), respectively. XRD analysis revealed that a single phase La0.6Sr0.4Co0.2Fe0.8O3 perovskite was obtained in the processed sample using ammonium carbonate as precipitating agent with a NH4+/NO3-molar ratio of 2 after calcination at 1000C for 1 h. The phase composition of products was also affected by changing pH values. Moreover, using sodium hydroxide as a precipitant resulted in a mixture of La0.6Sr0.4Co0.2Fe0.8O3 and cobalt ferrite (CoFe2O4) phases. Careless washing of the precursors can also led to the formation of mixed phase after calcination of final powders. Mean crystallite size of the obtained powders was not noticeably affected by varying calcination temperature from 900 to 1050C and remained almost the same at 10 nm, however increasing calcination temperature to 1100C resulted in sharp structural coarsening. FESEM studies demonstrate that relatively uniform particles with mean particle size of 90 nm were obtained in the sample processed with a NH4+/NO3- molar ratio of 2 after calcination at 1000C for 1 h.