Summary.
In this investigation the crystallization of PbTiO3 upon annealing of pure nanopowders and PbTiO3–SiO2 (1:1 v/v) nanocomposite powders prepared by the sol-gel technique was studied. Using X-ray diffraction phase analysis, the start of PbTiO3 crystallization in pure PbTiO3 powders was detected at 400°C. Distinct crystallization of PbTiO3 in PbTiO3–SiO2 nanocomposites starts at 700°C, whereas SiO2 remains amorphous. There are indications that an interface interaction between the PbTiO3 and the SiO2 phase plays an important role in hindering the crystallization of PbTiO3. The particle size (size of coherently scattering regions) was estimated from the broadening of the X-ray diffraction line profiles. The average size of PbTiO3 nanocrystallites increases with temperature and time of annealing, the influence of temperature being more significant than that of the annealing time. Differential scanning calorimetry confirmed the results of the X-ray diffraction with respect to the start of the crystallization. Laser beam scattering and scanning electron microscopy provided the statistical distribution of the grain size and the morphology of the powder grains, showing that each grain of the powders contains several nanocrystallites (coherently scattering regions).
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Received October 4, 2001. Accepted (revised) December 14, 2001
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Čerňanský, M., Vaněk, P., Král, K. et al. A Study of PbTiO3 Crystallization in Pure and Composite Nanopowders Prepared by the Sol-Gel Technique. Monatshefte fuer Chemie 133, 799–806 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1007/s007060200051
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s007060200051