Microemulsion Synthesis of Nanoparticle PZT Powder

Nanocrystalline lead zirconate titanate (PZT) powders have been synthesized using microemulsion processing route. Microemulsion is one of the major processing techniques to synthesize a nanosize, homogenous, and almost agglomerate free ceramic powders. The ternary microemulsion system is consisted of cyclohexane as the oil phase, Triton X100 as the nonionic surfactant phase, and an aqueous phase containing 0.619 M Pb2+, 0.325 M Zr4+, and 0.3 M Ti4+, representing a Pb2+: Zr4+: Ti4+ molar ratio of 1:0.52:0.48. The ratio of these cations has been adjusted using Inductively Coupled Plasma (ICP) technique. After coprecipitation of metallic hydroxides by adding ammonia solution in microemulsion system, the PZT precursor was obtained. PZT powders have been prepared upon calcination of precursor at 800 degrees C. Prepared powders was characterised using techniques such as X-ray diffraction, differential thermal analysis, and scanning electron microscopy. The characteristics of microemulsion processed powder is discussed, with emphasis on the presence of nano scaled PZT powder with a composition near to morphotropic phase boundary (MPB) without formation of any intermediate phases.