Synthesis and Structural Studies of Perovskite-Ytterbium Manganate and Spinel-Cobalt Chromite Nanomaterials
Abstract
This study investigates the synthesis and structural characterization of the polycrystalline nanocomposite material YbMnO3-CoCr2O4. The synthesis was performed using the sol-gel and Pechini methods. X-ray diffraction analysis was used to determine the phase composition, revealing the presence of perovskite-type ytterbium manganate (YbMnO3) and spinel-type cobalt chromite (CoCr2O4). Data analysis was conducted using the PDXL program, confirming that the nanocomposite is a two-phase system consisting of orthorhombic perovskite and cubic spinel phases. Morphological analysis was carried out using scanning electron microscopy and a high-resolution transmission electron microscopy to respectively confirm the elemental composition and provided average particle size measurements and their distribtion. The particle sizes were determined to be 215-525 nm for YbMnO3 and 2.11-3.19 μm for CoCr2O4. Additionally, 3D surface profiles and nanomaterial growth measurements were obtained using the MP-45030TDI 3D modeling software.