Synthesis of ultrafine gadolinium oxide powder by mechanochemical processing

Abstract

The synthesis of ultrafine Gd 2O 3 powder by mechanochemical reaction and subsequent heat treatment via the reaction 2GdCl 3+3CaO→Gd 2O 3+3CaCl 2 was studied using X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy and differential thermal analysis. Dried GdCl 3 and CaO powders were mechanically milled and subsequently annealed at various temperatures. During milling, GdOCl nanoparticles of ∼16 nm in size were formed by a solid-state displacement reaction. Heat treatment of the as-milled powder at 700°C resulted in the formation of monoclinic Gd 2O 3 crystallites of ∼100 nm having a thin platelet morphology.