Influence of annealing temperature on Pb(Zr,Ti)O₃ nanoparticles growth on multi-walled carbon nanotubes

We report the influence of annealing temperature on Pb(Zr,Ti)O₃ nanoparticles (PZT NPs) grown on multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs). The nanocomposites consist of PZT NPs and MWCNTs that were successfully prepared by using a sol-gel process, followed by an injection using a syringe filter and then by rapid thermal annealing. Field-emission transmission electron microscopy (FETEM) indicated that as the annealing temperature was increased, the shape and the crystallinity of the PZT NPs on the MWCNTs changed from an amorphous structure to the perovskite phase of PZT. Raman spectroscopy showed that the ratio of the intensity of G band to that of the D band, which indicates the crystal purity of the MWCNTs, decreased from 0.57 to 0.55 when the annealing temperature was increased from 500 to 700 °C. A separate distribution of elemental C in the PZT NPs on the MWCNTs annealed at 600 °C was directly observed via energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy.