Synthesis of barium titanate nanoparticles via a novel electrochemical route

An electrochemical route from Ti metal plate in KOH and Ba(OH)(2) electrolyte at room temperature is first established for the synthesis of BaTiO3 nanoparticles. Anodic sparks play a key role, and KOH concentration is one of the most significant factors which affect the appearance of anodic sparks in this method. XRD patterns show that the powder obtained in our study is a pure perovskite phase BaTiO3 with a cubic structure, whose size and morphology are subsequently studied by TEM. The mean diameter of the particles is 13.8 nm and the standard deviation (S.D.) fitted is 6.26 nm. It is also found that the mean size of the obtained nanoparticles increase from 13.8 nm to 168.0 nm, when 60 vol.% absolute ethanol is replaced by distilled water as the solvent of the electrolyte. (C) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.