Nanocrystalline PbTiO3 powders from an amorphous Pb-Ti-O precursor by mechanical activation

Mechanical activation is investigated for its efforts in triggering PbTiO3 nanocrystallites from an amorphous Pb-Ti-O precursor, which was synthesized by co-precipitation. In this study, the amorphous precursor and the compositions that were subjected to mechanical activation for various time periods were investigated using Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). A single perovskite PbTiO3 phase was readily formed in the amorphous Pb-Ti-O precursor by mechanical activation, where a nanocrystalline feature is retained. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.