Effects of glycine on the solid-state synthesis of barium titanate micro-particles with high tetragonality

Addition of glycine (Gly), an amino acid, decreases the decomposition temperature of barium carbonate. This accelerates the solid-state addition reaction of BaCO3 with TiO2. By adding Gly and subsequent vibro-milling for 3h, well-dispersed BaTiO3 (BT) micro-particles were obtained with their average size 180 nm and lattice tetragonality 1.0098. The acceleration of the reaction toward BT by Gly is basically attributed to the coordination of Gly to barium to loosen the metal - CO3 bonds and to facilitate the detachment of CO2 and thus providing higher nucleation site density.