Structural investigations of sol-gel-derived LiYF4 and LiGdF4 powders

A soft synthesis route based on the sol-gel process was used for preparing rare-earth tetrafluoride powders from alkoxide precursors. In-situ fluorination was performed by decomposition of a fluorine containing organic compound named 1,1,1-trifluoro-5-methyl-2, 4-hexanedione when sintering the as-prepared xerogel to produce crystallized samples. Both to insure complete departure of organic residues as well as to avoid any oxidation into oxyfluoride, annealing treatment was carried out under fluorine atmosphere. Free-oxygen content of resulting samples was evidenced by infrared and Raman spectroscopies. X-ray absorption spectroscopies (XAS) and F-19 nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) studies showed that samples heat treated at 300 degrees C are already crystallized but for a full crystallization in LiGdF4 and LiYF4 a thermal treatment at 550 degrees C is needed. Temperature dependence of powder morphology was analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). (C) 2007 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.