Low temperature chemical synthesis of nanocrystalline Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3 and (1-x)Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3-xPb(Fe1/2Nb1/2)O3 (x=0.1, 0.2, and 1) ceramics

Nanocrystalline (20 nm) lead magnesium niobate (PMN) powders were prepared via a chemical process. This process involved the addition of aqueous niobium tartrate, lead-ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid, and magnesium-polyvinyl alcohol complex to produce a homogeneous solution. After the complete evaporation of the resulting homogeneous solution, the complexes decomposed and produced a black, fluffy precursor material. The precursor material on calcination up to 850 degreesC/2 h produced nanocrystalline PMN powders with the corresponding average particle size 20 nm. PMN powders modified with lead iron niobate (PFN) (1 - x)PMN-xPFN (x = 0.1, 0.2, and 1) were also prepared using this route and investigated through x-ray diffraction studies.