Effects of solvent and chelating agent on synthesis of solid oxide fuel cell perovskite, La0.8Sr0.2CrO3−δ

Effects of solvent and chelating agent on synthesis of La0.8Sr0.2CrO3−δ perovskite are reported. Samples are synthesized using a solvent (ethylene glycol or 2-methoxyethanol) and a chelating agent (acetylacetone, citric acid or ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid) by polymeric-gel method, and characterized by X-ray diffractometry and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. Citric acid to metal cations molar ratio (Rc) is varied for ethylene glycol–citric acid system. Samples are mainly orthorhombic perovskite. SrCrO4 is appeared as a secondary phase and found to be the lowest for ethylene glycol–citric acid combination with Rc equal to 7. Crystallographic parameters of perovskite phase are determined and compared with those of LaCrO3. A mechanism employing a partial-charge model, chelating effect and solvent-cage effect is proposed to explain the results. Effect of sintering temperature on phase, relative density and morphology of samples prepared using ethylene glycol and citric acid (Rc = 7) is also reported.