Mechanochemical synthesis and investigations of calcium titanate powders and their acrylic dispersions

In this paper we studied calcium titanate (CaTiO3) nanopowders obtained via a mechanochemical method assisted by microwave irradiation from calcium oxide and titanium dioxide, as well as its suspensions with addition of acrylic-poly(ethylene glycol) suspensions (SAP) obtained using microwave irradiation as a stabilizing agent. Experiments carried out using X-ray diffraction technique confirmed success of mechanochemical synthesis assisted by microwave irradiation and scanning electron microscopy images allowed to determine the structure as well as dimensions of CaTiO3 nanopowders. Suspensions of CaTiO3 and SAP were examined and the results showed relationships between the SAP concentration and both viscosity and stability. Both viscosity and stability are significantly increased upon addition of SAP and the dependency is nearly linear for higher SAP concentrations. Based on the results, we conclude that addition of SAP allows to successfully stabilize CaTiO3 nanopowders and the stabilizing effect can be explained by both electrostatic and steric forces. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.