Room Temperature Synthesis of Ferroelectric Barium Titanate Nanoparticles Using Peptide Nanorings as Templates

Abstract

Tetragonal ferroelectric BaTiO3 nanoparticles are hydrolyzed inside peptide-ring templates at room temperature and pressure (see figure). The sizes of the monodisperse BaTiO3 nanoparticles are controlled between 6 and 12 nm by varying the cavity size of the nanorings as a function of pH. The nanoparticles possess switching behavior under the influence of external electric fields.