Abstract
In this work, the technique of electrospinning has been employed to fabricate uniform one-dimensional (1-D) Yttrium aluminum garnet (YAG) nanofibers. YAG precursor was prepared by sol–gel method using ethanol as solvent. Alcoholic solutions containing polyvinyl Alcohol (PVA) have been used as a gel. The sol-gel was then introduced to the electrospinning apparatus to form nanofibers. Upon firing and sintering under carefully pre-selected time–temperature profiles, ceramic nanofibers retaining the original morphological features observed in the as-spun composition are obtained. Calcination has been done at different temperatures (800, 900, and 1000 °C). Analytical tools, such as TGA and SEM have been employed to elucidate the pathway of ceramic phase formation and the systematic evolution of morphological features in the spun and the processed fibers. X-ray diffraction has also been used to identify the crystalline state of the final products. Pure crystalline YAG phase was obtained at 800 °C, without any intermediate phases such as YAlO3 (YAP) and Y4Al2O9 (YAM). The calcination temperature used in this study is significantly lower than that required by the conventional solid-state reaction process and comparable with that required by most of the chemical-based synthesis routes.