INVESTIGATIONS OF STRUCTURAL AND SPECTROSCOPIC CHARACTERIZATION OF LANTHANUM SILICATE NANOCRYSTALLINE

ABSTRACT: Oxyapatite nanostructure pure silica and lanthanum silicate (10 La2O3-90 SiO2) nanoparticles were synthesized using sol–gel technique. La2O3 ions were introduced in sol–gel derived silica matrix by direct mixing dissolved lanthanum nitrate into a silica sol. The effects of H2O/TEOS ratio on the structural and spectroscopic properties of (La2O3-SiO2) and the effect of La2O3 ions on the silica gel were studied. The gel and oxide powders were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transformed infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM/EDS) and optical properties. The observed XRD patterns for the prepared samples calcined at different temperature confirmed the formation of nano-crystalline lanthanum silicate phases. The refractive indices and UV-Vis absorption for pure and doped silicate systems have been achieved. KEY WORDS: lanthanum silicate, nano-particles, sol-gel process, XRD and spectroscopi