IMPROVING THE OLIVINE SOL-GEL SYNTHESIS METHOD

Several previous sol-gel synthesis methods have successfully synthesized olivine at the nanoscale (Park et al. 1993; DeAngelis et al., 2014; Anovitz et al., in prep; Cannon et al., in prep). However, these previous methods often require more than 24 hours to complete each batch, producing variable composition, particulate and clump size, and overall yield. The goal of this project was to reexamine and improve the synthesis method by reducing time required to produce a batch while maintaining high synthesis yields and attaining the desired composition and particle size.

The synthesis method has been divided into three stages: gel formation, gel drying, and calcination. Possible improvements during the gel formation stage consist of reducing, and possibly eliminating, the addition of excess solvents, and limiting reflux mixing after reactant addition. The changes made during the gel drying stage focused on the combined use of a centrifuge and rotary evaporator to quickly remove solvents. Calcination stage changes include varying temperature, ramp time, hold time, cooling time, and furnace atmosphere. These preliminary method changes have already reduced the amount of time by 75% while still producing high yields (up to 10 g) of nanoscale olivine per batch.