Powder characteristics and sinterability of ceria powders prepared through different routes

Ultra-fine ceria powders were prepared by three different routes such as citrate–nitrate combustion, hydroxide and oxalate decomposition. The various processes gave ceria powders with different properties. In order to see the effect of powder properties on sinterability, sintering was performed under the identical conditions, i.e., 1250 °C for 1 h. SEM investigations revealed a pronounced correlation between powder properties and sintered microstructure. The combustion derived ceria powder yielded the highest sintered density with ultra-fine grains.