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The orthorhombic perovskite, Gadolinium aluminum oxide (GdAlO3, GAP) material was successfully prepared by hydrothermal supercritical fluid method using co-precipitated gel of GAP. All experiments were carried out in the pressure and temperature ranges of 100-150 MPa and 180-650 °C respectively. The as-prepared GAP samples were systematically characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), thermo gravimetry (TGA) and differential thermo gravimetry analysis (DTA). The XRD profile confirms fully crystalline and orthorhombic nature of as-prepared materials, which is well correlated to the reported results. The SEM studies reveal that the GAP materials synthesized at 650 °C/150 MPa for 92 hrs possesses polycrystalline nature with average particle size in the range of 5-20 µm. The DTA shows a crystallization peak at 361 °C at this temperature the agglomerated GAP gel starts to crystallize into polycrystalline GAP materials. When compared with other methods, like sol-gel and solid-state reactions our crystallization temperature is very much lower and feasible. This work not only demonstrates a simple way to fabricate GAP polycrystalline materials from co-precipitated gels but also shows a possible utilization of same technique for synthesis of other high temperature materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polymer-Zeolites composites have been prepared, using castor oil based polyurethane (PU) as a host and AlPO4-5 as particulate filler. The prepared PU/zeolite composites have been characterized for mechanical properties such as tensile strength and tensile modulus. These PU composites exhibited an improved mechanical performance compared to the unfilled PU. Thermo gravimetric analyzer (TGA) curve shows that all the chain-extended PUs are stable up to 250 °C and maximum weight loss occurs at 490 °C. The thermal stability of composites increases with increase in zeolite content. Microcrystalline parameters and micro voids of composites have been measured by using wide-angle X-ray scattering (WAXS) and Positron Annihilation Lifetime (PALS) methods respectively. The microcrystalline parameters and micro-voids from PALS indicate the interaction of the filler with the matrix is stronger beyond 5% of the filler which reflect the mechanical performance as well. Surface morphology of composites has been studied using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). The photomicrograph of SEM indicates a uniform distribution of zeolite filler in the PU matrix. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]