The Seeding Effects on the Phase Transformation of Sol-Gel Derived PZT Powder

The formation temperature for the perovskite lead zirconate titanate [Pb(Zr,Ti)O3, PZT] derived from sol-gel route was lowered by more than $100^{\circ}C$ with the addition of crystallographically suitable seed particles, such as barium titanat e (BT) or PZT. We investigated the effect of seeding on the crystallization of perovskite phase and in the microstructure of the sol-gel derived PZT powder by varying the concentration, size and chemical species of seed particles. The phase transition as a function of temperature was monitored by DTA, XRD, and Raman spectroscopy, and the interface between the seed particle and grown PZT layer was analyzed by SEM and high resolution TEM techniques. It was found that both the heterogeneous and homogeneous nucleation contributes competitively in the formation of perovskite PZT grains.