3. Results and discussion
As the powder diffraction file of the Er(NbO3)3 could not be found
in the literatures, the new phase formed in the calcined Er2O3+3Nb2O5
mixture is justified by comparing its x-ray diffraction pattern with those
patterns of the raw materials Er2O3 and Nb2O5 and other possibly
formed phases, ErNbO4 [9] and Er3NbO7 [10], which are shown in
Fig. 2. Comparison shows that a new phase Er(NbO3)3 is formed. The
size of the Er(NbO3)3 grains is 2–11 μm as shown in the inset in Fig. 2.