Novel Routes for the Synthesis of Nanostructured Bi4Ge3O12 and Bi12GeO20 Ceramics

Abstract

Bismuth germanate is a scintillator material sensitive to X-, β− and  γ- rays, and the interest to produce transparent ceramics of this material is due the possible substitution of the single crystals, currently used in radiation detectors. The advantages would be facility of production, low cost and versatility of shapes and sizes. To reduce the porosity of the sintered ceramics, this work aims to produce nanostructured bismuth germanate ceramic powders. The synthesis routes investigated were SHS and proteic sol-gel. This latter employs coconut water as a precursor of organic chains. The crystalline structure of all the samples was determined by X-ray diffraction, and the grain size and morphology of SHS samples were also studied by scanning electron microscopy. From the results we could conclude that SHS was efficient to produce single phase and nanostructured Bi4Ge3O12 ceramics, and that proteic sol-gel yields Bi12GeO2 0as prevailing phase.