Synthesis of CaTiO3 from calcium titanyl oxalate hexahydrate (CTO) as precursor employing microwave heating technique

Abstract

Calcium titanate, CaTiO3, an important microwave dielectric material and one of major phases in synroc (synthetic rock), a titanate ceramic with potential application for fixation of high level nuclear waste was synthesized from calcium titanyl oxalate [CaTiO (C2O 4)2·6H2O] (CTO) by employing microwave heating technique. CTO heated in microwave heating system in air at 500°C for 1 h gave a perovskite, CaTiO3. The product obtained by heating of CTO in the same system at 700°C for the same duration was however, much more crystalline. CaTiO3 obtained by the present method was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and BET surface area measurement. © Indian Academy of Sciences.