Abstract: A thermionic emitter for apparatus such as electron microscopes, scanning electron microscopes, and high power vacuum tubes which require a source of electrons formed from lanthanum strontium vanadate which is prepared from the compounds La.sub.(1.sub.-x) Sr.sub.(x) VO.sub.3, where x is the fraction of strontium (Sr) incorporated into LaVO.sub.3. The value of x lies between 0.1 and 0.4.