Effect of Temperature and Duration of Sintering on Perovskite Material (La_1-xAg_x)_0.8Ca_0.2MnO₃

Lanthanum compounds of (La_1-xAg_x)_0.8Ca_0.2MnO₃ have been prepared for x = 0 and x = 0.5 by using sol-gel method. Bulk samples were sintered by varying temperature and duration of sintering processes. The sintering temperature was varied at two conditions, 600 °C for 5 h and 900 °C for 24 h. Crystal structure of the samples was observed by X-Ray diffraction spectrometer. Rietveld refinement of X-Ray diffraction results showed that the sample with x = 0, both sintered at 600 °C for 5 h and at 900 °C for 24 h are single phase and they have an orthorhombic structure with Pnma space group. The sample with x = 0.5 sintered at 900 °C for 24 h did not show a single phase due to the appearance of Ag peaks, and they have a perovskite structure. Meanwhile, the sample with x = 0.5 sintered at 600 °C for 5 h, also did not show a single phase due to the appearance of Ag and LaO peaks. This results showed that for x = 0.5, temperature and duration of sintering are influenced by nucleation processes in the samples. The higher temperature and more longer duration of sintering will make the nucleation processes in the sample better.