Microstructure and Optical Properties of PZT Nanopowders Derived via Laser-Assisted Synthesis

Lead zirconate titanate, Pb(ZryTi1-y)O3 (PZT, y = 0.53), nanopowder has been synthesized using the combined action of a chemical approach plus laser light via a relatively low-cost Pechini-type reaction route methodology. The influences of laser irradiation on the structural, surface morphological, and optical properties of the PZT nanocrystals were systematically studied. The obtained powders were characterized via XRD, UV–VIS–NIR spectroscopy, TEM, and SEM techniques. The Goldschmidt tolerance factors and modified tolerance factors were estimated for the prepared nanopowders. Quantitative phase analysis via Rietveld refinement (RF) was used to estimate the fractional phase content, and the Williamson–Hall (WH) method was used to evaluate the crystallite size and microstrains of the calcined nanopowders. TEM images confirmed the growth of PZT nanoparticles with needle-like structure. The modified tolerance factor remained nearly constant (t* ≈ 1.005), indicating a stable perovskite structure. Transient TiO2 and ZrO2 secondary phases appeared at intermediate irradiation times but disappeared after 3 h. The optical energy gap was evaluated using the diffused reflectance technique with the transformed Kubelka-Munk function. The band-gap energy values of the synthesized nanopowders were changed from 3.26 to 3.29 eV when laser radiation was applied. In this paper, an alternative methodology to engineer PZT nanocrystalline powders is proposed. The application of laser light during the preparation process proved to be a promising approach to prepare PZT nanopowders in a reasonable time with the ability to locally tune the particle size and morphology.