Synthesis and characterization of Ba1−xSrxTiO3 nanopowders by citric acid gel method

Stoichiometric and monophasic Ba1−xSrxTiO3 (x = 0.3) nanopowders were successfully prepared by the citric acid gel method using barium nitrate, strontium nitrate and tetra-n-butyl titanate as Ba, Sr, Ti sources and citric acid as complexing reagent. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), infrared (IR) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used to characterize the thermal decomposition behavior, the crystallization process and the particle size and morphology of the calcined powders. The results indicated that single-phase and well-crystallized Ba1−xSrxTiO3 (x = 0.3) nanopowders with particle size around 80 nm could be obtained after calcining the dried gel at 950 °C for 2 h.