Effect of different dopants Ba and Ag on the properties of SrTiO3 nanopowders

Undoped and Ba and Ag-doped SrTiO3-based nanopowders (NPs) were successfully grown by a modified auto-combustion method. An optimum ratio of citric acid and nitric acid was used as the polymerization agent and fuel. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) results revealed that the products were crystalline with cubic and tetragonal structures. The particle aggregation state, nanoparticles size distribution, morphology and electrical properties were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), dynamic light scattering (DLS), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and ultraviolet–visible (UV–vis) were studied, respectively. Using the X-ray peak broadening and size–strain plot (SSP) method the crystallite sizes and lattice strain of the samples were investigated. The UV–vis absorption spectra revealed that the band gap of the STO-based has a strong absorption peak which lies in the UV region.