Effect of drying temperature on structure, phase transformation of sol–gel-derived lead zirconate titanate powders

Lead zirconate titanate (PZT) (53/47) powders were prepared by a cheating acetate sol–gel process. The drying temperature effect on crystallization behavior was conducted to determine the best conditions for preparing high content of perovskite PZT powders in the morphotropic region. DSC/TG analysis, FT-IR spectrum and X-ray diffraction were carried out to identify the reaction sequences and calculated the activation energy of every transition temperature during the drying procedures. In the present work, well-crystallized, single-phase perovskite PZT powders were obtained after drying PZT stock solution at 300 °C for 1 h, then heat treatment at 600 °C for 30 min. The dependence of this crystallization temperature on the drying conditions was discussed.