Yttriumoxidenanopowderwaspreparedbyanoveltechniqueusinganalginatebiopolymerasaprecursor.Thetechniqueisbasedonthermaldecompositionofanyttriumalginategel,whichisproducedintheformofbeadsbyionicgelationbetweentheyttriumsolutionandsodiumalginate.Theeffectofpost-annealingtemperatureontheparticlesizeofthenanocrystalswasinvestigatedatvarioustemperatures.TheproductswerecharacterizedusingX-raydiffraction,scanningelectronmicroscopy,andatomicforcemicroscopy.ThesizeofthenanocrystallineY2O3particlesvariedfrom22.7to38.7nm,dependingontheannealingtemperatureandtime.Thegrainsizedistribution（GSD）wasalsodetermined.TheGSDbecamemorenon-symmetricalastheannealingtemperatureincreased,andthewidthofthedistributionsforthepowdersproducedusingthealginatemethodwaslessaffectedbyheattreatment.Thisalginatemethodwascomparedwiththeconventionalglycinecombustionmethod,onthebasisofparticlesize.Theparticlesobtainedusingtheproposedtechniqueweresmallerthanthoseobtainedusingthecombustionmethod.Alginate-assistedthermaldecompositionisthereforeaneasyandcost-effectivemethodforpreparingnanosizedY2O3crystals.
