Synthesis of Lu2Ti2O7 nano-rods from molten salt with two-step calcinations

A modified molten salt technique, in which the precursors were first heated up to 1000 degrees C and then followed by holding at 800 degrees C for isothermal treatment, was used to prepare Lu2Ti2O7 nano-rods while TiO2 and Lu2O3 were chosen as precursors. Well-isolated cubic pyrochlore Lu2Ti2O7 nano-rods with diameters ranging from 50 to 500 nm and length up to several microns, containing only minor amounts of impurities, can be easily fabricated by this route. The crystal structure and morphologies of the nano-rods were further characterized by XRD, SEM, TEM, EDS, RAMAN and HRTEM technique. The results indicated that Lu2Ti2O7 nano-rod is single crystalline and the growth direction of the obtained nano-rods is determined to be the < 111 > crystallography direction. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.