Synthesis and structural characterization of zinc titanates

The aim of this study is to accurately obtain of local atomic structures of zinc titanates (ZnTiO3 and Zn2TiO4). Samples have been synthesized by the ball milling method using mixture of high purity ZnO and TiO2 powders. X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES), and extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) techniques have been used to probe crystal and local structures of the synthesized powders. They have been found to exhibit very high crystallinity. In addition, the EXAFS results have showed that the ball milling is a quite effective method to fabricate highly crystalline nanosized powders. The obtained results are presented in detail.

► Local structure determination of ZnTiO3 and Zn2TiO4 by XANES and EXAFS.
► Zn and Ti K absorption edge XANES investigations of the powder samples.
► Investigation of pre edge peak features of the samples.
► Obtaining of local structure parameters of the samples using EXAFS.
► Good agreement of EXAFS results and crystal structure data.