Influence of titanium doping on the structure and morphology of MgO prepared by coprecipitation method

Ti-doped magnesium oxide powders were prepared by a chemical coprecipitation technique using magnesium nitrate hexahydrate and titanium tetrabutoxide as starting materials and ammonia hydroxide as precipitator. The influence of titanium doping on the structure and morphology of MgO powders was investigated by X-ray diffraction, X-ray fluorescence, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The results show that titanium ion (Ti4+) was successfully incorporated into the MgO crystal lattice, and consequently, caused the changing of MgO crystal lattice parameter. However, titanium doping resulted in varied particle sizes, and enhanced slightly the particle aggregation. It is attributed to the difference between the solubility product (Ksp) of the two precursors, Mg(OH)2 and TiO(OH)2, which is one of important factors in the chemical coprecipitation process.