Characterization of barium titanate powders:: Barium carbonate identification

A range of methods for the detection of barium carbonate contaminant in barium titanate powder has been assessed, namely: X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), with EDS-X-ray microanalysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), gas chromatography (GC) for analysis of carbon, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The most satisfactory procedure for the detection of the small amounts of BaCO3 commonly present is FT-IR. Surface analyses by XPS show that the carbonate is present as a discrete phase and is not a surface film on barium titanate particles.