Synthesis of nanosized (Pb,Sr)TiO3 perovskite powders by coprecipitation processing

Nanosized perovskite lead strontium titanate (PbxSr1-x)TiO3 (PST) powders were successfully prepared by a simple coprecipitation method. Lead-strontium titanyl oxalate (PSTO) precursor was first synthesized at room temperature, and the precursor was then calcined at 600 C for 1 h to produce the single phase perovskite PST powders. Characterization studies were carried out on the as-dried precursor and the calcined PST powders by various techniques. The results showed a strong dependence of the chemical composition of final PST powders on pH value in the coprecipitation reaction. PST powders with desired composition could be synthesized by adding 25 mol% excess Sr. PST particles were found to be spherical in nature with an average size of 10 nm.