Peering into the Formation of Template-Free Hierarchical Flowerlike Nanostructures of SrTiO3

A Thesing and EJ Damiani and LF Loguercio and PG Demingos and AR Muniz and NLV Carreno and S Khan and MJL Santos and AG Brolo and JFL Santos, ACS OMEGA, 5, 33007-33016 (2020).

DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.0c04343

The development of efficient advanced functional materials is highly dependent on properties such as morphology, crystallinity, and surface functionality. In this work, hierarchical flowerlike nanostructures of SrTiO3 have been synthesized by a simple template-free solvothermal method involving poly(vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP). Molecular dynamics simulations supported by structural characterization have shown that PVP preferentially adsorbs on 110 facets, thereby promoting the 100 facet growth. This interaction results in the formation of hierarchical flowerlike nanostructures with assembled nanosheets. The petal morphology is strongly dependent on the presence of PVP, and the piling up of nanosheets, leading to nanocubes, is observed when PVP is removed at high temperatures. This work contributes to a better understanding of how to control the morphological properties of SrTiO3, which is fundamental to the synthesis of perovskite-type materials with tailored properties.

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