Molten Salts Synthesis of Relaxor Ferroelectrics PMN-PT Powders

Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3-PbTiO3 (PMN-PT) solid solutions with composition near the morphotropic phase boundary (MPB) (33mol% PT) were successfully synthesized by the molten salt synthesis (MSS) method at 800°C for 30min using Li2SO4-Na2SO4 and NaCl-KCl molten salts as a medium of reaction, respectively. The influences of processing parameters, such as temperature, time, and type of salts, on the formation and the micrographs characteristics of the PMN-PT powders were discussion. It was found that the PMN-PT powder obtained by the MSS method has a relatively uniform size distribution and a better dispersivity of particle, and an average size of PMN-PT particles with smooth surface was around 0.3∼0.5 μm. With other conditions being kept same, chloride molten salt is more propitious to the formation of PMN- PT solid solutions, and improving the compositional homogeneity of PMN-PT powders.