Aerosol route synthesis of lithium borate spheres using lithium nitrate and boric acid solution

Lithium borate has a potential to use various field from solid state batteries to sensors owing to its high conductivity and piezoelectricity. In this study, lithium borate spheres were synthesized by thermal decomposition of lithium nitrate and boric acid aerosols droplets atomized in ultrasonic nebulizer under air atmosphere. Energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) was performed to determine the chemical composition of prepared structures. Boron detected in the EDS analysis, and peaks of possible impurities were not observed. Also, size, shape, and surface morphology of samples were characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM). Images revealed that non-agglomerated lithium borate particles were produced in spherical morphology with smooth surface, but particles had relatively wide size distribution between 50 nm and 1100 nm. The X-ray diffraction measurement was employed to identify the crystalline phase and the absence of clear diffraction peaks in the pattern indicates that obtained lithium borate particles have amorphous structure.