Synthesis of spherical lead zirconate titanate (PZT) nanoparticles by electrohydrodynamic atomisation

Abstract

This paper describes the production of spherical-shaped lead zirconate titanate (PZT) nanoparticles by the electrohydrodynamic atomisation (EHDA) process in order to make inks suitable for ink jet printing applications. PZT sols with different concentrations (0·1–0·6 M) were used as starting materials. Two different heating systems, gas heating and direct heating, were used in order to remove the solvent, reduce the particle size and stabilise the PZT particles. Several aspects have been considered, such as liquid flow rate, sol concentration and heat system temperature, and their influence on the particle dimension is determined. Using optimised processing parameters of direct heating at 520°C, 0·2 M precursor sol, flow rate of 0·2 mL h−1 and field of 3 kV cm−1, particles of 100–300 nm in diameter were synthesised. Following stabilisation at 300°C, the particles were suspended in a PZT sol to produce an ink suitable for ink jet printing.