Synthesis yttrium aluminum garnet precursor via homogeneous precipitation under microwave irradiation

The lowly-agglomerated single-phase YAG nanopowders were synthesized for the first time by the microwave homogeneous precipitation in the presence of urea. The composition and transformations during calcination of YAG precursor were analyzed by IR, DTA/TG and XRD. The size and morphology of YAG powders were characterized by LD and TEM methods. Results show that amorphous precursor synthesized under [urea]/[metal ions] molar ratio of 15 crystallizes directly to single-phase YAG at 900degreesC. The size distribution and sinterability of YAG powders are obviously improved by adding (NH4)(2)SO4 into the reaction solution. YAG powders obtained from precursor with the (NH4)(2)SO4 content of 8% have good sinterability and are highly densified at a temperature of 1500degreesC