Journal of the American Ceramic Society, Vol.96, No.11, 3470-3475, 2013
Low Temperature Sintering and Enhanced Piezoelectricity of Lead-Free (Na0.52K0.4425Li0.0375)(Nb0.86Ta0.06Sb0.08)O-3 Ceramics Prepared from Nano-Powders
(Na0.52K0.4425Li0.0375)(Nb0.86Ta0.06Sb0.08)O-3 powders were synthesized via sol-gel and solid-state reaction methods as a raw material for the preparation of the ceramics. Dependence of piezoelectric properties and microstructure on sintering temperatures was investigated in this study. Sol-gel-derived nano-powders could be densified at a lower temperature of 940 degrees C and exhibited excellent electrical properties after sintering at 1020 degrees C (d(33)=424pC/N, d(33)(*)=780pm/V, k(p)=52.1%, and T-c=265 degrees C). The enhanced electric properties were most likely due to the coexistence of orthorhombic and tetragonal phase in the samples at room temperature, homogenous microstructure with fine grain and high density.