Investigation of phase boundaries in the system (KxNa1−x)1−yLiy(Nb1−zTaz)O3 using high-throughput experimentation (HTE)

A high-throughput experimental (HTE) approach starting from dry, fine-grained powders was used to synthesize bulk samples in the system (KxNa1−x)1−yLiy(Nb1−zTaz)O3, a doped variant of the piezoelectric (K0.5Na0.5)NbO3 (KNN). Starting from the system (K0.5Na0.5)1−yLiy(Nb1−zTaz)O3 known from the works of Saito et al. an effort was made to establish a higher order phase diagram. Special emphasis was put on expanding the known morphotropic phase boundary that constitutes a region of special interest for electroceramic materials as it features maximum piezoelectric properties. Analyses were performed using a HTE-compatible technique, namely automated powder X-ray diffraction (XRD).