Abstract

The influence of controlled potential conditions on the structure and phases of BaTiO3 films grown on titanium by the hydrothermal-electrochemical method was studied. The experiments were conducted using a three electrode high pressure electrochemical cell in a 0.2 M Ba(OH)2 electrolyte at 150°C. The spontaneous initial nucleation linked to pure hydrothermal BaTiO3 formation was inhibited by cathodically protecting the titanium electrode since its immersion in the electrolyte. The application of initial nucleation pulses of varying cathodic potentials affected the grain size of the deposit. The growth of tetragonal BaTiO3 was achieved combining the initial inhibition of the pure hydrothermal growth, followed by nucleation under controlled potentiostatic conditions.