The influences of possible factors on preparation and characterization of Lu2Ti2O7 nano-wires

Lu2Ti2O7 nano-wires were obtained by the molten salt synthesis method. The morphology and structures were analyzed via SEM, TEM and XRD. XRD results indicated that the as-prepared products were mainly composed of Lu2Ti2O7 phase besides only minor amounts of impurities. SEM and TEM results showed that the products consisted of wire-like nanostructures with 50–300 nm in diameter and several tens of micrometers in length. The selected area electron diffraction results indicated that the Lu2Ti2O7 nano-wires were single crystalline. The influence of the calcinations temperature, holding time, salt species and amount on the crystallization habit and morphology of Lu2Ti2O7 nano-wires was also studied in detail. Under the same processing conditions, KCl was proved to be more favorable for synthesis of Lu2Ti2O7 nano-wires than NaCl. Furthermore, the calcinations temperature showed a strong influence on the formation of Lu2Ti2O7 nano-wires. Both the increased salt content and prolonged annealing time also could improve the product morphology greatly.

► Lu2Ti2O7 nano-wires are successfully synthesized and first reported in this paper. ► The influences of possible factors on nano-wires synthesis are discussed. ► The obtained Lu2Ti2O7 nano-wires had an aspect ratio of about 3000.