Abstract
Cubical Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 (PZT) crystals (PZT cubes) were synthesized using a hydrothermal method at different synthesis temperatures from 140 to 220°C. The Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3 precursor solution was prepared from Pb(CH3COO)2·3H2O, Zr(OH)[(OCH(CH3)COO−]3(NH4+)3, and titanium (IV) bis(ammonium lactato)dihydroxide. In this study, the effects of synthesis temperature on the shape, morphology, and crystallinity of PZT crystals were investigated. We successfully obtained PZT cubes possessing faceted structures without circular shaped PX-phase (Ti-rich PZT) at a synthesis temperature of 180°C; these PZT cubes consisted of perovskite phase without any non-ferroelectric pyrochlore phase. Precise analysis based on selected area electron diffraction and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy revealed that PZT cube was a single crystal and the chemical composition of PZT cubes was closed to the nominal composition of the PZT precursor solution, respectively. PZT cubes with single perovskite phase could be synthesized at a lower temperature of 180°C by the hydrothermal method, compared with conventional methods such as sol–gel process and metal organic decomposition method. The piezoelectric properties were confirmed for single PZT cubes using the piezoresponse force microscopy mode of a scanning probe microscope.
