Synthesis of tetragonal flake-like magnesium titanate nanocrystallites

Nanocrystallite magnesium titanate (MgTiO3) with a tetragonal flake-like shape was synthesized by stearic acid gel (SAG) method. The as-prepared Mg–Ti gel was analyzed by thermal gravimetric analysis, and the calcined Mg–Ti gel was further characterized by X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectrometry, UV/vis spectrophotometer, fluorescence spectrofluorimeter and transmission electron microscopy, respectively. The results indicate that single-phase MgTiO3 can be successfully synthesized at a wide range of temperature from 500 to 900 °C. The average crystalline size distribution was found in the range of 30–50 nm. All MgTiO3 crystallites prepared by the current SAG method had a slight agglomeration with the special tetragonal flake-like morphology, while the unwanted contaminant phases like MgTi2O5 can be completely avoided.