Synthesis and Characterization of Nanocrystalline Barium–Samarium Titanate

Abstract

AbstractBarium–samarium titanate nanopowder (Ba0.85 Sm0.1TiO3) was synthesized through tartrate precursor route. The effect of annealing temperature on the formation, crystalline size, morphology and magnetic properties was systematically studied. The annealing temperature was varied from 600°C to 1,100°C. Thermal analysis measurement (TG-DSC, thermogravimetry-differential scanning calorimetry) was carried out on the precursor to characterize the thermal decomposition behavior. The results showed that the precursor of Ba–Sm–Ti mixture decomposed thermally in multistep weight loss up to about 480°C and perovskite Ba0.85Sm0.1TiO3 started to form at ~520°C. X-ray diffraction and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopic measurements showed that the synthesized Ba0.85Sm0.1TiO3 has a tetragonal dominant structure with the presence of intermediate SmTi2O3 at lower annealing temperature. The ratio of SmTi2O3 was decreased and completely disappeared at higher annealing temperatures. The tetragonality, the theoretical density and the crystalline size were increased by increasing annealing temperature. The crystalline size is still in nano-range of 12.4–19.9 nm even after annealing at 1,100°C. The morphology of the produced sample transferred from nano-cubes to nano-whisker to nano-mace (nano-aggregates) with the increase of annealing temperature.