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Compositional Inhomogeneity in Li‐ and Ta‐Modified (K, Na)NbO 3 Ceramics
Author(s) -
Wang Yongli,
Damjanovic Dragan,
Klein Naama,
Hollenstein Evelyn,
Setter Nava
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
journal of the american ceramic society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.9
H-Index - 196
eISSN - 1551-2916
pISSN - 0002-7820
DOI - 10.1111/j.1551-2916.2007.01962.x
Subject(s) - natural bond orbital , potassium niobate , materials science , solid solution , mineralogy , dielectric , ceramic , annealing (glass) , homogeneity (statistics) , potassium , ferroelectricity , analytical chemistry (journal) , ferroelectric ceramics , niobium , chemistry , metallurgy , computational chemistry , statistics , optoelectronics , mathematics , chromatography , density functional theory
Compositional inhomogeneity is examined in Li‐ and Ta‐modified potassium sodium niobate (K,Na)NbO 3 perovskite ceramics. The inhomogeneous distribution of the A‐site (K and Na) and B‐site (Nb and Ta) cations is found to be correlative. The inhomogeneity could not be eliminated by prolonged high‐temperature annealing in samples prepared by direct mixing of alkaline carbonates and Ta and Nb oxides. In contrast, the precursor method, where a (Nb x Ta 1− x ) 2 O 5 solid solution was first formed, led to a considerably improved compositional homogeneity and appreciably enhanced dielectric, ferroelectric, and piezoelectric properties. Our results suggest that more attention needs to be paid toward controlling the compositional fluctuation of this complex solid solution system.