Can anyone help me identify what might have gone wrong during the synthesis process or suggest potential reasons for the absence of Zn-related peaks?"
Dear Muhammed Shajin
Not knowing anything about this system, I assume you are trying to make ZnTiO3. Are you following an exact literature procedure? If so -
First thing I would check is whether the zinc acetate - or most of it - really reacted. You can collect the water you used to rinse the product and analyze it for zinc.
If there's no significant concentration of zinc in the rinse water, then the zinc oxide (or hydroxide and/or basic acetate) must still be in the solid as an amorphous phase, possibly combined with some titanium oxide/hydroxide. If so, try raising the "annealing" temperature and/or anneal for much longer. (This annealing is probably really a reaction, whereby the two hydrous oxides react with each other while eliminating water.)
It is also possible that the reaction is far from complete but has actually proceeded partway; however, if the TiO2 grains are much better formed (larger and/or more stoichiometric) than the zinc titanate, the TiO2 pattern will completely mask the pattern of the semi-amorphous zinc titanate. This is also a condition cured by higher temperature or much longer reaction time.
Good luck!
Emanuel Cooper
The absence of Zn-related peaks in your XRD analysis may be due to the incorporation of Zn into the TiO2 lattice, low Zn content, or formation of amorphous Zn compounds. To investigate further, consider using techniques like EDS, XPS, or ICP to analyze the presence and distribution of Zn in your sample.
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