Rapid synthesis of perovskite-type LaFeO3 nanoparticles by microwave-assisted decomposition of bimetallic La[Fe(CN)6]·5H2O compound

Nano-sized and pure single-phase perovskite-type LaFeO3 powders were synthesized within a very short reaction time of 4 min via the decomposition of bimetallic La[Fe(CN)6]·5H2O compound using microwave irradiation (2.45 GHz, 900 W) in the presence of SiC as an efficient chemically inert secondary heater to initiate the reaction. Product was characterized by XRD, FT-IR, SEM, TEM, BET surface area measurement and UV–vis spectroscopy. In comparison with the well-known thermal decomposition of La[Fe(CN)6]·5H2O, the present method is rapid, clean and energy efficient and resulted in finer particles with higher specific surface areas. The preparation process can be also applied to synthesize other mixed oxides such as SmFeO3, NdFeO3 and GdFeO3.