Published online by Cambridge University Press: 15 February 2011
Electronic conductive oxide SrRuO3has been synthesized by sol-gel processing. Various precursors were tested and four different processing methods were developed. Stable SrRuO3sols were obtained using these four processing methods with various precursors. It was found that partial hydrolysis of strontium precursors was required to achieve a cross-condensation of ruthenium and strontium, so as to obtain a single phase SrRuO3perovskite at relatively low temperatures. The stable sols were either poured into petri-dishes to form xerogels or dip-coated on substrates to form thin films. Single phase SrRuO3perovskite was obtained after heat-treatment at 800 °C or higher temperatures. TGA/DTA, XRD and SEM were applied to characterize sol-gel derived SrRuO3ceramic powders and films.