Abstract
Nanocrystalline gadolinium-doped ceria (GDC) was synthesized by a single step, low cost and environmentally friendly method using ammonium tartrate as an inexpensive, green and novel precipitant. The precipitate obtained during the process was calcined at 400 and 600 °C and the effect on the final microstructural properties of the powders of differing process variables were studied. The synthesized GDC samples were analysed using a range of different techniques, including XRD, TG/DSC, FESEM, STEM, and FT-IR and Raman spectroscopies. The thermal (TG/DSC), XRD and Raman spectroscopic analyses confirm the formation of a single crystalline phase with a cubic (fluorite) unit cell and formed at a low calcination temperature (400 °C). XRD profiles permitted estimation of crystallite sizes as < 20 nm, which was further confirmed by STEM and FESEM micrographs indicating the formation of quasi-spherical particles with uniform particle sizes in the range 10–30 nm. This study will aid understanding of effects of process variables on the properties of doped metal-oxide powders prepared using the carboxylate route