Modification of Pechini sol–gel process for the synthesis of MgO-Y₂O₃ composite nanopowder using sucrose-mediated technique

This study aims to modify Pechini sol-gel process for synthesizing MgO-Y₂O₃ composite nanopowder by adding sucrose to precursors as a mediation. The precursor solution for synthesis of MgO-Y₂O₃ composite nanopowder contained magnesium acetate tetrahydrate, yttrium(III) nitrate hexahydrate, ethylene glycol, citric acid, and sucrose. The effect of the mole ratio of citric acid to the whole precursors on the particle size as well as the effect of calcination temperature on the specific surface area were investigated. The optimized sample was synthesized using a mixture of citric acid: sucrose: transition metal (in the molar ratio of 1:4:1), which had the average particle size of 18.3 nm and specific surface area of 69.2 m²/g. The specific surface area increased from 69.2 to 105.2 m²/g with decreasing the calcination temperature from 800 to 600 °C. The sucrose addition increased the specific surface area, but decreased the particle size. Moreover, the FESEM observations showed that MgO and Y₂O₃ phases had a uniform phase distribution in MgO-Y₂O₃ composite.