Hydrothermal Synthesis of Cobalt-Containing Potassium Titanate Nanoparticles

This article presents the results of a study on the effect of the KOH concentration on the formation of potassium titanate nanoparticles containing cobalt under hydrothermal conditions. The synthesis of precursors is carried out by the coprecipitation method, maintaining the ratio of the initial reagents of TiCl4 : Co(HСОО)2·2H2O = 3 : 1, 7 : 1, and 7.25 : 0.75. Subsequent hydrothermal treatment is carried out with solutions with a KOH concentration ranging from 2 to 10 M in increments of 2 M, at temperatures of 180, 200, and 220°C and a pressure of up to 10 MPa. The phase composition and microstructure of the synthesized samples are studied using X-ray phase analysis and scanning electron microscopy. It is shown that at an initial TiCl4 : Co(HСОО)2·2H2O ratio of 7.25 : 0.75 and hydrothermal treatment at 180°C for 24 h, elongated nanoparticles (probably nanotubes or whiskers) with a diameter of about 20 nm begin to form.