Synthesis and characterization of nanocrystalline strontium titanate through a modified combustion method and its sintering and dielectric properties

Abstract

Strontium titanate (SrTiO3) nanoparticles have been synthesized through a modified single step combustion process for the first time. The X-ray diffraction studies of SrTiO3 nanoparticles have shown that the as-prepared powder was single phase, crystalline, and has a cubic perovskite structure (ABO3) with a lattice constant a = 3.903 Å. The particle size calculated from FWHM was ∼22 nm. SrTiO3 nanopowder was examined using thermo gravimetric analysis, differential thermal analysis and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The transmission electron microscopic investigations have shown that the particle size of the as-prepared powder has a mean size of 34 nm. The nanoparticles of SrTiO3 obtained by the present combustion method were sintered to 98% of the theoretical density at a relatively lower temperature of 1350 °C for 3 h. The dielectric constant (έ) and loss factor (tan δ) at of the sintered SrTiO3 pellets at 5 MHz measured at room temperature were 281 and 6 × 10-4 respectively. © 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.