Electrophoretic deposition of nano-sized BaTiO₃

Abstract

In this study, a non-aqueous method in a simple one pot reaction process was employed to synthesize nano-sized BaTiO₃ particles and then electrophoretic deposition technique was employed for thin film coatings. In the first step of the preparation, metallic barium is directly dissolved in benzyl alcohol at slightly elevated temperatures. Then titanium isopropoxide was added following by a solvothermal treatment. At the end of the reaction, nearly spherical BaTiO₃ nanoparticles were obtained typically 5 nm in diameter. After establishing the stability of the BaTiO₃ suspension in ethanol, electrophoretic deposition process was performed without any additional operation. Alumina with platinum plating was used as substrate. To achieve the optimal process parameters, various voltages were applied by altering the cathode to anode distance as well as deposition time. High voltages application was possible without causing hydrolysis, because of the non-aqueous ethanol medium with higher surface charge of the nanoparticles. The deposited surface coatings were dried in air and sintered at various temperatures. SEM, EDX and XRD analysis were employed for the investigation of the coating.