A simple and controllable hydrothermal route for the synthesis of monodispersed cube-like barium titanate nanocrystals

Monodispersed BaTiO3 (barium titanate) nanocrystals with well-controlled size have been successfully prepared via a simple hydrothermal route. The phase structure, morphology and surface composition of the BaTiO3 nanocrystals are characterized by means of XRD, TEM, FTIR and TGA. Results demonstrate that the synthesized products consist of cube-like nanocrystals with a size of 5–15 nm, which can be well-controlled by tuning the Ba/Ti molar ratio in the starting materials, and that the amount of the organic capping agents on the surface of BaTiO3 nanocrystals is about 32 wt%. The present simple synthesis route would provide a general strategy for the preparation of other perovskite-type nanocrystals.