PRECURSOR CHEMISTRY FOR POLAR NANOTUBES

ABSTRACT

The strategy for synthesising a precursor solution for Misted Chemical Deposition of strontium bismuth tantalate is described and the importance of attention to detail is illustrated. With a view towards eventual commercial exploitation, emphasis is laid upon robustness and adaptability of the synthesis process in terms of raw material availability, impurity elimination, solution formulation and stoichiometry control.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The synthesis work was conducted at Inorgtech Ltd with the help of Dr Hywel Davies. Deposition experiments were conducted in the Ferroics Laboratory of the Department of Earth Sciences, University of Cambridge by Dr Finlay Morrison and Mr Masato Miyake on equipment provided by Mr Osamu Tsuji of Samco International. Porous silicon substrates were provided by Dr Marin Alexe of the Max Planck Institute, Halle.