LOW TEMPERATURE MOLTEN SALT SYNTHESIS OF MGTIO SUBMICRON AND NANOCRYSTALS IN THE EUTECTIC NACL-NAF

and titania nanopowders. In this study, NaCl-NaF salts with a eutectic composition were used as the flux: its liquidus temperature is about 680 C. Effect of reaction temperature on the formation of magnesium titanate was studied by increasing the reaction temperature from 700 to 850 °C. With increasing temperature, the amount of MgTiO3 in the resultant powders increased with a decrease of TiO, and MgO phases. The reactions of the precursors taking place during heat treatment were investigated by thermo gravimetric and differential thermal analysis (TG-DTA). XRD and SEM were used for investigation of formation process and molten salt mechanism of MgTiO3. The SEM results revealed that the synthesized hexagonal plate-like MgTiO3 grain did not retain shape and size of original magnesia and titania nanopowders, indicating that a dissolution-precipitation mechanism dominated formation of MgTiO, by molten salt route.

Keywords:

MgTiO , Molten salt Synthesis , phase formation , dissolution-precipitation