Lead titanate nano- and microtubes

Lead titanate (PbTiO₃) nano- and microtubes were fabricated by wetting ordered porous alumina and macroporous silicon with precursor oligomers coupled with templated thermolysis. The diameters of the PbTiO₃ tubes range from a few tens of nanometers up to one micron. The proper selection of the template allowed for a precise adjustment of their size over two orders of magnitude. Electron microscopy and x-ray diffraction revealed that the tube walls were polycrystalline. The generic approach presented here can be adapted for the fabrication of tubes and rods from a multitude of functional inorganic oxides.