Lead partitioning in sol-gel derived lead titanate nanopowders

In the current research, we have synthesized PbTiO₃ nanopowders via a sol-gel process and investigated Pb-partitioning in the produced nanopowders. Highly stabilized PbTiO₃ sols, with various Pb/Ti ratios, were prepared through chemical modification of the organometallic precursors of titanium by acetic acid. The calcination conditions were selected based on the simultaneous thermal analysis (STA) of the PbTiO₃ gels, including complete burnout of the contained carbon and crystallization of the desired perovskite structure. X-Ray diffraction (XRD) investigation demonstrated role of Pb/Ti ratio as well as the gel calcination conditions in improving formation of the tetragonal perovskite phase PbTiO₃ nanopowders and avoiding Pb-partitioning. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), with uniform morphology, investigations showed that well crystallized PbTiO₃ nanoparticles have been synthesized after calcination the best selected PbTiO₃ gel under the optimum heat treatment conditions.