Preparation of gadolinium gallium garnet polycrystalline powders for transparent ceramics

Gadolinium gallium garnet (Gd3Ga5O12, GGG) polycrystalline powders have been prepared by a simple co-precipitation method with ammonia hydrogen carbonate as precipitant agent. XRD, FTIR, FE-SEM, TEM, and thermal analysis (TG-DTA) have been used to characterize the phase transition and morphology of the synthesized powders. Well-crystallized pure phase GGG powders were obtained at 800 °C for 2 h, without any intermediate phases formed during the process. The resultant nano-sized GGG polycrystalline powders showed good dispersion and excellent sintering activity with the particle sizes less than 100 nm.