Preparation of stable cubic LaFeO3 nanoparticles using carbon nanotubes as templates

In the present study, the cubic lanthanum ferrite (LaFeO3) perovskite nanoparticles with a high surface area (30 m(2) g(-1)) have been synthesized, which are stable at high temperatures up to 1173 K. Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were used as hard templates. The advantages of this synthesis are evidenced in this study by comparing the phase, size and stability of the resulting LaFeO3 perovskite with those synthesized by using the well-established citrate method. CNTs can stabilize not only the perovskite cubic structure, but also the size.