Solution combustion synthesis of CeFeO3 under ambient atmosphere

Polycrystalline CeFeO3 was prepared with almost single phase purity of 93% by a solution combustion synthesis (SCS), but contrarily to all other reports, CeFeO3 could be obtained under ambient atmosphere. The perovskite-type phase was gained at 400 °C from a solution containing stoichiometric amounts of metal nitrates and by using glycine as fuel. For comparison, CeFeO3 was also prepared under inert atmosphere by a conventional, oxalate-based high-temperature solid-state reaction. The products were structurally characterised by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), and the lattice parameters were determined from subsequent Rietveld refinements. Since solution combustion is often referred as the method delivering nano-sized ceramics, the morphological characteristics of the products obtained through the two different synthesis methods were compared by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Furthermore, the particle sizes were determined by laser diffraction analysis.