Synthesis of yttrium aluminium garnet by the glycerol route

Yttrium aluminium garnet (YAG), represented by the chemical formula Y3Al5O12, was synthesised from the stoichiometric mixture of the metal nitrate solution by boiling with glycerol. For a fixed batch size, the glycerol amount was systematically varied to study its effect on the specific surface area and phase purity of the YAG powder. The quantity of glycerol was optimised to get the desired powder characteristics. Using this technique, single phase YAG powder of high specific surface area was obtained at 1000 degrees C. Characterisation was done by thermogravimetry (TG), differential thermal analysis (DTA), X-ray diffraction (XRD); particle size analysis and by measuring the specific surface area, as well as the carbon content, at various stages, to ascertain the quality of the product.