Morphology and structure of LiNb0.6Ti0.5O3 particles by molten salt synthesis

M-phase LiNb0.6Ti0.5O3 (LNT) plate-like particles with large anisometric shape were firstly fabricated by molten salt synthesis (MSS) method in LiCl flux. Effects of reaction temperature, holding time and the weight ratio of LiCl salt to the original powders on the phase structure and morphology of the synthesized particles were investigated. The LiNb0.6Ti0.5O3 powders generally showed a multi-layer structure, exhibiting irregular hexagonal or triangle morphology. The reaction temperature showed a strong influence on the particle growth process, and pure LNT particles are obtained at 950 °C. Further increasing the reaction temperature and holding time could increase the average size of the particles. It revealed that the thickness of the plat-like particles was increased as the contents of the chloride salts increased. The synthesis process, the relation between crystal structure and morphology of particles were also discussed.

► Plate-like LiNb0.6Ti0.5O3 particles were fabricated by molten salt synthesis.
► Particles with diameters of 5–20 μm and thicknesses of 0.5–2.0 μm synthesized at 1000 °C exhibited large anisometric.
► The plate-like LiNb0.6Ti0.5O3 particles can be used as templates for the preparation of textured niobate and titanate based electroceramics.