High surface area nano-sized La0.6Ca0.4MnO3 perovskite powder prepared by low temperature pyrolysis of a modified citrate gel

Single phase nanocrystalline La0.6Ca0.4MnO3 powder was synthesized by both the usual and a modified citrate gel precursor method, and the effects on the formation of homogeneous nano-sized powder with a perovskite structure were investigated. In the modified method, single phase La0.6Ca0.4MnO3 powder with an average particle size of 17.2 nm was obtained when the powder was pyrolyzed at 520°C for 2 h. Its specific surface area was 40.7 m2 g−1, about 4-fold larger than that of powder made by the usual citrate gel method.