Synthesis of single-crystalline perovskite barium titanate nanorods by a combined route based on sol–gel and surfactant-templated methods

The single-crystalline perovskite barium titanate nanorods were successfully synthesized by a combined route based on sol–gel and surfactant-templated methods at low temperature. The synthesis was accomplished by using barium acetate (Ba(CH3COO)2) and tetrabutyl titanate (Ti[O(CH2)3CH3]4) as the starting materials and laurylamine as the surfactant, respectively. Well-isolated single-crystalline cubic perovskite BaTiO3 nanorods with diameters ranging from 20 to 80 nm and lengths reaching up to > 10 μm can be easily fabricated by this route. The crystal form and morphology of the nanorods were characterized by X-ray diffraction, TEM and HRTEM. The mechanism of the formation of the single-crystalline cubic perovskite BaTiO3 nanorods was discussed based on the theory of oriented attachment.