Patent ID: 8189633

Claim:
A method comprising: providing at least one metal precursor, wherein the at least one metal precursor is selected from a group consisting of oxides, nitrates, acetates, and carbonates; forming a homogenized precursor solution of the at least one metal precursor; adjusting the pH of the homogenized precursor solution to a range from about 0.5 to about 5; adding a fuel to the homogenized precursor solution, wherein the fuel comprises glycine, urea, and hydrazine; removing water from the homogenized precursor solution to leave a reaction concentrate; igniting the reaction concentrate to form an oxide powder comprising type A lattice sites and type B lattice sites, the oxide having a formula of ABO 3 , wherein A represents material occupying the type A lattice sites and B represents material occupying the type B lattice sites, wherein A comprises a plurality of elements, the plurality of elements comprising lutetium, wherein the lutetium is present in an amount of at least about 0.5 mole fraction of the oxide, and wherein B comprises aluminum; and sintering the oxide powder in the presence of a grain growth additive to form a sintered ceramic.