Sol-gel preparation and structural characterization of Ba(2)TiSi(2)O(8) powder

Fresnoite (Ba(2)TiSi(2)O(8), BTS) nano-particles were successfully synthesized at a low temperature of 900 degree C by a modified Pechini sol-gel process with starting materials of Ba(NO(3))(2), Si(OC(2)H(5))(4) and Ti(OC(3)H(7))(4). The structural characterization of the precursors and derived synthesized oxide powders is done by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermal analysis (TG-DTG) and electron microscopy (SEM, EDX and TEM) studies. The effect of heat-treating temperature on the crystallinity of the fresnoite was investigated. Combined the XRD data and the strong FTIR peaks assigned to Ti-O and Si-O vibration, indicate the formation of fresnoite phase at a temperature of 900 degree C. Also the nano-crystals size distribution was studied and the main diameter of nanoparticles was about 47 nm.