Observation of Hierarchical Porous BaTiO3 Derived from Hard Template

Abstract

The morphology control at the mesoscale, via the design of size, shape, surface, interface, porosity and patterning of the meso-components, has gained increasing attention in the recent past and is expected to endue materials with novel functions. Most reports on mesoporous materials are on amorphous silica or simple oxides with amorphous or polycrystalline framework. It is still quite challenging to achieve functional multi-metal-oxides possessing highly porous structure. On the other hand, the synthesis and characterization of nano-sized ferroics has recently become important since it was predicted a dependence, for instance of the ferroelectric response, on the size and morphology. Moreover, the combination of different materials at the nanoscale creating multifunctional nanocomposites, where new properties resulting from scale, interface and defect phenomena are expected, is a new field that requires exploitation. Crystal size, surface area, surface curvature, and charges on the surface singnificantly influence the physical properties of ferroics at the nano-scale. Within our studies of the porous ferroelectrics, we have prepared BaTiO3 crystals with nanoporosity inside with a sol-precipitation process involving polymer or surfactant micelles. In this work, we present the microscopic characterization of porous BaTiO3 derived from hard matrix.