Synthesis of lutetium aluminum garnet powders by nitrate–citrate sol–gel combustion process

Polycrystalline lutetium aluminum garnet (Lu3Al5O12) powders were prepared by a simple sol–gel combustion method using aluminum nitrate, lutetium oxide and citric acid as the starting materials. The XRD results showed that the amorphous precursor converted directly to pure LuAG at 900 °C. The TEM investigations revealed that the synthesized LuAG powders are nano-sized with an average particle size 20–30 nm.