Preparation of nanosized mixed oxide ceramic powders using polyvinyl alcohol and polyhydroxy organic compounds

A novel chemical technique has been developed for the preparation of nanosized ceramic powders by thermolysis of polymeric based aqueous precursor solutions of metal complexes, via the formation of mesoporous carbon precursors. The precursor solutions consisted of metal ions complexed with suitable ligands, namely polyvinyl alcohol and polyhydroxy organic compounds such as mannitol and sorbitol. The particle sizes of the ceramic powders, which were produced by calcination of mesoporous carbon rich precursor powders at temperatures below 800 K, ranged between 10 and 60 nm depending on the preparation conditions. The resulting powders were found to have a narrow particle size distribution.