Fabrication and characterization of PZT nanorods and nanohexagons with applications in piezoelectric transducers

• Author / Creator

  Wan, Qian

• All ultrasound devices/sensors use piezoelectric transducers to generate/receive ultrasound. These transducers are made of Pb (Zr0.53Ti0.47) O3 (PZT) materials. In this article, we report a new way of fabricating PZT material with interesting nanorod and nanohexagon shapes. The PZT nanohexagons with typical diameters and bounding lengths within the nanometer range were synthesized by sintering a mixture of PZT nanocrystals, Tween 20 and sodium chloride, in which the PZT nanocrystals were made by a sol-gel method. The PZT nanorods were also synthesized by sintering a mixture of PZT nanocrystals, Triton and sodium chloride. After annealing at 800°C for three hours, PZT nanorods and PZT nanohexagons formed and exhibited a single-crystalline nanostructure, confirmed by high resolution transmission electronic microscopy (HRTEM). X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Raman Spectra studies demonstrated their crystal structures and composition, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were used to image their morphologies.

• Subjects / Keywords

  • Transducers
  • PZT
  • Nanostructures

• Graduation date

  Fall 2012

• Type of Item

  Thesis

• Degree

  Master of Science

• DOI

  https://doi.org/10.7939/R3G43Q

• License

  This thesis is made available by the University of Alberta Libraries with permission of the copyright owner solely for non-commercial purposes. This thesis, or any portion thereof, may not otherwise be copied or reproduced without the written consent of the copyright owner, except to the extent permitted by Canadian copyright law.