Preparation and characterization of sol–gel derived ZnTiO3 nanocrystals

Nanometer scale cubic ZnTiO3 has been synthesized by sol–gel method at a lower temperature (600 °C). X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis shows that the average crystalline size of the sample is ∼8–10 nm. The cubic to hexagonal phase transition of ZnTiO3 is clearly observed from the XRD patterns of the sample. The thermal behavior of the sample was characterized by the thermogravimetric/differenthermal analysis (TG/DTA), XRD patterns, and the infrared spectra (IR). Transmission electron microscope (TEM) observations of the sample reveal a high microstructural uniformity. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]