Template-free formation of Pb (Zr0.52Ti0.48) O3 (PZT) nanorods

Abstract

Lead Zirconate titanate nanorods Pb (Zr0.52Ti0.48) O3 were synthesized via a molten salt route. In this research, milled PZT nanopowder and sodium chloride were mixed together with triton X-100 as surfactant. In the first stage, the starting materials at molar ratio 1:5:10 (PZT:NaCl:Triton X-100) was heat treated at 800 °C for 3, 6 and 12 h. In the second stage the molar ratio of starting materials was fixed at 1:10:15 (PZT:NaCl:Triton X-100) following the same heat treatment plans. The resulting products were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy. XRD patterns confirmed the presence of both monoclinic and triclinic structures. No PZT nanorods were produced when short time (3 h) heat treatment was applied regardless of the molar ratio of the starting materials. Cylindrical nanorods with average length of 2 μm and diameter of 50 nm were produced when the molar ratio was adjusted at 1:5:10 and heat treatment was carried out for 6 h. The nanorods are seemed to be partly destroyed when the heat treatment time was extended to 12 h. Nanorods with square shape cross section were achieved when the molar ratio was adjusted at 1:10:15 where the diameter and length were found to be 40–400 and 60–600 nm with heat treatment time of 6 and 12 h respectively.