Topotatic-Like Phase Transformation of Amorphous Lead Titanate to Cubic Lead Titanate

The crystallization process of lead titanate (PT) prepared using the polymeric precursor method was investigated using X‐ray diffractometry, Raman spectroscopy, electron microscopy, and X‐ray absorption spectroscopy techniques. The results showed that amorphous PT was formed by an O–Ti–O structure composed of fivefold and sixfold oxygen‐coordinated titanium. The local structure of the amorphous PT phase was similar to that of the cubic PT phase, i.e., similar coordination number and similar bond lengths, leading to a topotactic‐like transformation during the phase transformation from amorphous to cubic perovskite PT. Because of the low crystallization temperature, every transformation observed during the crystallization process was associated with a short‐range rearrangement process.