Optical, dielectric and photocatalytic properties of perovskite ZnTiO3 nanoparticle synthesized by sonochemical process

The sonochemical method was employed for synthesizing perovskite zinc titanate nanopowders. The yield powders were calcined at 600-900°C for 2 h. High crystallinity phase of cubic ZnTiO₃ was obtained at calcination temperature of 600°C while mixing phase of cubic and hexagonal was observed in the sample calcined at 700°C. For the samples calcined at 800 and 900°C, the hexagonal structure was dominant phase with a trace of rutile TiO₂ and spinel Zn₂TiO₄ phase. X-ray absorption near edge spectroscopy technique (XANES) was used to probe crystal and local structure of the synthesized powders. The samples calcined at 700°C exhibited the superior photocatalytic performance in decolorization of Rhodamine B dye under ultraviolet irradiation within 75 min. The dielectric permittivity and loss tangent of ZnTiO₃ calcined at 700°C was found to be 20 and <;10^-2. Effect of calcination temperature on structural, morphology, optical, dielectric properties and photocatalytic activity were also investigated and discussed.