Pb(Zr0.5Ti0.5)O-3 (PZT) piezoelectric ceramic fibers were prepared by using electrospun PZT/poly(vinyl acetate) (PVAc) composite fibers by calcination for 1 h at the temperature range of 500 degrees C-700 degrees C in air. The morphology and crystal structure of calcined PZT nanofibers were characterized as a function of calcination temperature with an aid of XRD, FT-IR, SEM, and TEM. XRD and FT-IR results revealed that pyrochlore phase began to appear after calcination at 500 degrees C. For the fibers calcined at 550-600 degrees C, the dominant phase of tetragonal perovskite PZT with a weak pyrochlore phase was detected. The pyrochlore and tetragonal perovskite phases coexisted for the fibers calcined at 650-700 degrees C. The morphology of the fibers has changed from a smooth and uniform fiber to a porous fiber with increasing the temperature. The optimized fibers with a diameter of 334 nm were obtained when the fibers were calcined at 550 degrees C. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.