Study on thermal stability of single-phase YCoO3 nanoparticles

YCoO₃ is a important inorganic functional materials, which has a wide-spread application in gas-sensing devices. In this paper, the thermal stability of single-phase YCoO₃ is studied by XRD, TG-DTA and TEM. The single-phase YCoO₃ is prepared by a two-step process involving sol-gel technique and sintering method. The synthesis conditions of the single-phase YCoO₃ are 900-1000 °C for 10 h in air. The synthesis temperature is extended to 850-1100 °C and the sintering time is shortened to 5h in oxygen atmosphere. The experimental results show that the synthesized powders have orthorhombic structure, with the diameter about 30 nm, which is stable in air below 1050 °C and in oxygen atmosphere below 1100 °C. Above those temperatures, YCoO₃ decomposes into Y₂O₃ and Co₃O₄. Oxygen atmosphere inhibits the decomposition of YCoO₃ at high temperature, resulting in the decomposition temperature increasing by 50 °C.