Fabrication,characterization,and electrical conductivity properties of Pr6O11 nanoparticles

Pr6O11 nanoparticles were obtained by subsequent thermal decomposition of the as-prepared precipitate formed under ambient temperature and pressure using NaOH as precipitant.The calcination process was affected,for 1 h in static air atmosphere,at 400-700 °C temperature range.The different samples were characterized using X-ray diffraction(XRD),transmission electron microscopy(TEM),field emission scanning electron microscopy(FE-SEM),thermogravimetric analysis(TGA),in situ electrical conductivity,and N 2 adsorption/desorption.The obtained results demonstrated that nano-crystalline Pr6O11,with crystallites size of 6-12 nm,started to form at 500 °C.Such value increased to 20-33 nm for the sample calcined at 700 °C.The as-synthesized Pr6O11 nanoparticles presented high electrical conductivity due to electron hopping between Pr(III)-Pr(IV) pairs.