Epoxide assisted sol–gel synthesis of perovskite-type LaMxFe1−xO3 (M = Ni, Co) nanoparticles

Perovskite-type LaMxFe1−xO3 (M = Ni, Co) nanoparticles were synthesized by a sol–gel method using propylene oxide as a gelation agent. The resulting nanoparticles show a narrow size distribution with particles in the 30–50 nm range. A highly homogeneous wet gel was formed during the hydrolysis and condensation of the precursor salts. This high homogeneity allows a substantial reduction of the calcination temperature and time required for the formation of the perovskite phase as compared with the solid-state and other wet solution routes, reducing drastically the aggregation of the particles during calcination.