Effect of Sintering Temperature on Phase Characteristic and Grain Size of La_0.7AE_0.3MnO₃ (AE=Ba/Ca/Sr) Ceramics Prepared by Sol-Gel Method

We investigate the impact of sintering temperature on changes in phase characteristics and grain size in the La_0.7AE0_.3MnO₃ (AE=Ba/Ca/Sr) materials synthesized by the sol-gel method. The materials were sintered at different sintering temperatures of 700°C, 800°C, 900°C, and 1200°C. The refinement of the X-ray Diffraction (XRD) pattern revealed that the La_0.7Ca_0.3MnO₃ and La_0.7Sr_0.3MnO₃ materials exhibited a single phase across all sintering temperatures. For La_0.7Ba_0.3MnO₃, a single-phase structure was observed only at sintering temperature above 800°C. All materials showed an increase in peak intensity and a shift in peak in the range angle 31°-34° towards higher angles correlated to increased sintering temperature. Sintering temperature plays an important role in controlling the grain size. Images obtained by Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) showed the morphology of La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 sintered at different temperatures (700°C, 800°C, and 900°C). The morphology results show an increment in the average grain size with range of 41.05 – 69.27nm because of the grain growth as the sintering temperature.