Preparation of nanocrystalline PbTiO sub(3) by accelerated sol-gel process

Nanocrystalline lead titanate was prepared quickly by accelerated sol-gel process. The reactive system contained Pb(Ac) sub(2) times 3H sub(2)O, H sub(2)O, Ti(OC sub(4)H sub(9)) sub(4) and CH sub(3)CHOHCH sub(3). The mechanism of gel formation and the mechanism of PbTiO sub(3) formation through gel to crystallite conversion were studied thoroughly by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), differential thermal analysis (DTA), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The gel was made up of two gels. The gel produced by the hydrolysis of Ti(OC sub(4)H sub(9)) sub(4) formed the network. Pb(Ac) sub(2) gel, CH sub(3)CHOHCH sub(3) and H sub(2)O coexisted in the network evenly. Tetragonal perovskite structure PbTiO sub(3) was prepared at 550 degree C. The dimension of particles is about 50 nm. The effect of milling on nanocrystalline dimension was firstly discussed in this paper. copyright 2002 Published by Elsevier Science B.V.