Synthesis of perovskite-type oxides NdFeO3 nanocrystals using oleic acid as surfactant

Perovskite-type oxides display prominent catalytic activities in many fields such as the total oxidation of methane and of volatile organic compound. Perovskite oxides have general formula ABO3, where the 12-coordinated. A site may be occupied by rare-earth, alkali or other large ions and the 6-coordineted B sites are usually filled with transition metal cations. A fine particle with dimensions of less than 100 nm ceramic materials have potential applications in many technology areas due to their crucial microstructure-based properties and especially in the fabrication of nanoscale devices is of intense scientific and technological interest. In present study, preparation of NdFeO3 was achieved by co-precipitation method using different surfactants. Aqueous solution of FeCl3.6H2O and NdCl3.6H2O were prepared and mixed together in 1:1 molar ratio and then was added small amount of surfactants. For the pH control, NaOH was dropped into the precursors. The precursor was dried at 100°C for 8h and calcinated at 800°C for 5h.The results of XRD show that average size of nanoparticles is 37 nm. The prepared products were characterized by FT-IR, XRD, SEM, EDX, VSM, Uv-Vis spectroscopy.