Detail Synthesis Route of Free-Standing Antiferromagnetic La2CuO4 Nanoparticles via Sol-gel Method

We report the detailed synthesis route of free-standing antiferromagnetic La 2 CuO 4 nanoparticles by the sol-gel method. The precursors were needed to be dissolved in acid solution and continued with heating treatment to make a gel. Some catalyst was needed to control and stabilized the transformation from the solution to gel. Some heating treatments were also conducted to remove the organic component and for the nucleation process to obtain the single-phase sample. Although the sol-gel method required some additional precursors such as acid and catalyst, it has some advantages. It needed a relatively low sintering temperature and short sintering time compare to those at the solid-state reaction. Interestingly, this method can produce a sample with a good distribution of the particle size.