Properties of nanocrystalline PT powder and PT/P(VDF-TrFE) 0-3 nanocomposites

Abstract

Nanometer-size powder of lead titanate (PT) was prepared using the sol-gel process. The PT gel was annealed at various temperatures to produce powder with different particle sizes. The structural variation of the PT powder with annealing temperatures was studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential thermal analysis (DTA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The crystallite size and particle size of the PT powder were measured by XRD and a particle size analyzer, respectively. PT/P(VDF-TrFE) 0-3 composites with a PT volume fraction of 0.4 were prepared by using PT powder of size 30 nm to 270 nm. The permittivities of the composites were measured using an impedance analyzer. After poling, the piezoelectric and pyroelectric coefficients of the composites were also determined.