Published online by Cambridge University Press: 25 February 2011
The effects of substituting poly(acrylic acid), PAA, and mucic acid for citric acid in the standard Pechini powder synthesis process was studied. Strontium titanate was chosen as the model system for this study. Powders were prepared from precursor solutions in which PAA (average molecular weight = 2,000 and 5000) was substituted for citric acid (up to 70% by weight), and with reduced weight of total organic reagents (50% reduction). The powders prepared with a 30% substitution of PAA for citric acid produced weakly agglomerated submicron particles after calcining. These powders contained a larger fraction of weak agglomerates than the powders prepared by the original Pechini process. As such, the PAA derived powder could be easily fractionated and dispersed with greater than 70% of the calcined powder having particle sizes less than 0.5 μm