Proceedings of ISAF 2007: Growth of lead zirconate titanate nano-sized tubes

Lead zirconate titanate (PZT) is a solid solution system with high spontaneous polarization, dielectric permittivity and piezoelectric coefficients. In the current study, we have grown lead zirconate titanate nano tubes through the template-based synthesis process. Porous anodic alumina membranes were prepared using various anodizing voltages for the templates in a cooled anodizing cell at 1 degrees C. Phosphoric acid solution was employed as the electrolyte. The templates were then filled with prepared PZT sols. To prepare the PZT sol, lead acetate trihydrate, zirconium (IV) butoxide and titanium (IV) butoxide were used as precursor materials. SEM and EDX investigations show that nano-sized lead zirconate titanate tubes are efficiently grown in porous anodic alumina templates. XRD investigations have also shown that the grown nanotubes have ferroelectric perovskite structure.