Abstract
Nanocrystalline lead zirconate titanate (PZT) powders were synthesized via a modified Pechini method. The effect of heat treatment temperature on the microstructural properties was studied using X-ray powder diffraction. The explored temperatures were identified from the TGA/DSC measurement and it is found that the crystallization starts from 550 degrees C. Rietveld refinement was applied to study structural changes and to quantitatively assess the fractional content of lead monoxide, identified in nano-PZT powders. Lebail method was carried out to the XRD pattern to accurately determine the peak broadening and position. Size-Strain Plot and various Williamson-Hall methods were used to calculate the lattice microstrain and crystallite size. The minimum strain was noticed in the pure tetragonal-PZT sample. TEM technique was also employed to study nanopowders and to confirm the formation of small-sized particles. The energy band gap was determined by diffused reflectance measurements and found to range from 3.17 to 3.29 eV.