Preparation of rod-like Nb2O5 particles by molten-salt process and the mechanism for the anisotropic grain growth

Highly anisotropic Nb2O5 rods with monoclinic structure were prepared by a molten salt (MS) process. The irregular-shaped Nb2O5 particles were transformed to rod-like shape by simple treatment in molten salt at high temperature. The morphology and crystal structure evolution during the molten salt process were studied, and the mechanism for the anisotropic grain growth was proposed. By in-situ reaction with K2CO3, grain orientated KNbO3 particles were fabricated from these Nb2O5 rods. The results showed that the molten-salt process is a simple and effective way to fabricate highly anisotropic Nb2O5 particles which can be used as templates to enhance the electrical properties of niobate based functional ceramics.