Structural and optical properties of lead titanate nanowires synthesized by hydrothermal method

Abstract

Lead titanate (PbTiO3) nanowires have been synthesized by hydrothermal method at 200°C for 48h using lead acetic and tetrabutyl titanate as the starting materials and NaOH served as a mineralizer. The phase composition and microstructure of PbTiO3 nanowires were studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) and selected area electron diffraction (SAED). The results showed that the obtained nanowires are of single crystalline, tetragonal perovskite structure with diameters of ac. 12 nm and lengths ranging from 500 nm up to 5 μm. The PbTiO3 nanowires have good optical transmissivity. Photoluminescence (PL) study at room temperature for wavelength between 400 and 700 nm reveals a strong light emission band peaking at ac. 471.4 nm (2.63 eV).