Effect of the dopant selection (Er, Eu, Nd or Ce) and its quantity on the formation of yttrium aluminum garnet nanopowders

Abstract Hydroxide precursors, synthesized using the co-precipitation method, were calcined for 1 h at the temperatures of 900, 1000 and 1100 °C, respectively, and heated directly to 1500 °C to produce various Y 3 Al 5 O 12 (YAG) nanopowders with different doping quantities of erbium, europium, neodymium and cerium. All samples were investigated using thermo-gravimetry (TG) and differential thermal analysis (DTA), field emission gun-scanning electron microscopy (FEG-SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). TG and DTA experiments were performed from room temperature up to 1500 °C; the weight loss curves combined with the presence of exo- and endo-thermal even…