Lanthanum (III) 2,4-Pentanedionate Hydrate

Lanthanum (III) 2,4-pentandionate or Lanthanum Acetylacetonate (AcAc) is a metal-organic coordination complex.  It is soluble in organic solvents, making it an excellent Lanthanum precursor for advanced materials.  It is easily incorporated in sol-gel or deposition processes for creating thin films and ceramics.  It decomposes above 730 degrees Celsius, making it suitable for preparing oxide materials.

For example, researchers from the Kyushu Institute of Technology in Kitakyushu, Japan incorporated Lanthanum Acetylacetonate and Manganese Acetylacetonate in a solvothermal process to prepare Lanthanum manganite (LaMnO₃) thin films.  Lanthanum-based perovskite oxides are often doped with a variety of transition metal ions and are used in wide-ranging applications from solid oxide fuel cells, gas sensors, ion-sensors, and batteries.  The authors found that the metal acetylacetonates readily dissolved in their mixed-solvent system to prepare high-quality gels for their process.

In another example, researchers from the University of Connecticut prepared Lanthanum Zirconate (La₂Zr₂O₇) using reactive spray deposition technology, which involves combusting a precursor solution to create a coating of nanoparticles on a substrate.  The facile decomposition of Lanthanum 2,4-pentanedionate made it an ideal precursor for this process.  Lanthanum Zirconate has a high melting point of 2300 degrees Celsius and is quite inert.  It resists cracking, even at high temperatures, and is therefore suitable as a thermal barrier coating for metallic substrates at extreme temperatures.

1. Shimizu, Y., & Murata, T. (1997). Sol-gel synthesis of perovskite-type lanthanum manganite thin films and fine powders using metal acetylacetonate and poly(vinyl alcohol). Journal of the American Ceramic Society, 80(10), 2702–2704. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1151-2916.1997.tb03178.x
2. Hussein, G. A. M., & Ismail, H. M. (1995). Characterization of lanthanum oxide formed as a final decomposition product of lanthanum acetylacetonate: thermoanalytical, spectroscopic and microscopic studies. Powder Technology, 84(2), 185–190. https://doi.org/10.1016/0032-5910(95)02984-A
3. Wang, Y., Kumar, R., Roller, J., & Maric, R. (2017). Synthesis and Characterization of Nano-crystalline La2Zr2O7 Film by Reactive Spray Deposition Technology for Application in Thermal Barrier Coatings. MRS Advances 2017 2:28, 2(28), 1519–1525. https://doi.org/10.1557/adv.2017.154