Study of the lead environment in liquid and as-dried precursors of PZ, PT and PZT thin films

The environment of lead and zirconium atoms in liquid and as-dried precurso rs for PbZrO3 (PZ), PbTiO3 (PT) and Pb1.1Zr0.53Ti0.47O3 (PZT) thin film dep osition were analyzed by EXAFS. The sols were prepared by 2-methoxyethanol route with lead acetate and lead oxide as lead sources. Pb-O-M (M = Zr and/ or Ti, depending on the sol composition) linkages were determined in all so ls. The choice of lead source weakly influences the lead environment, and s trongly influences that of zirconium in both PZ and PZT sols. By drying lea d oxide based sols the Pb-M correlation is moderately reduced in PZ, and PT and is strongly reduced in PZT.