Synthesis and characterization of glycolate precursors to MTiO3 (M = Ni2+, Co2+, Zn2+)

Novel glycolate precursors to metal titanates MTiO3 (M = Ni2+, Co2+, Zn2+) were synthesized by heating metal acetate and titanium isopropoxide in ethylene glycol up to 190 °C during distilling the water to avoid hydrolysis of precursors. These glycolate precursors were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transformation infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), thermal analysis (TG-DTA), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The obtained three isostructural glycolate precursors were containing metal (Ni, Co, Zn), titanium, and ethylene glycol with a ratio of 1:1:4. The crystal growth processes of three precursors were different from each other. These precursors revealed homogeneous and well-defined rod-like structure with 0.5–3.0 μm in thickness and 4–20 μm in length. The obtained metal titanates were consisted of microrods with 0.4–1.5 μm in thickness and 2–15 μm in length.