Effect of atmosphere on the formation of perovskite phase in 0.90Pb(Zn1/3Nb2/3)O3-0.10PbTiO3 (PZN-10PT) powders

Lead zinc niobate (PZN) and lead titanate (PT) solid solutions close to the morphotropic phase boundary (MPB) exhibit unusually large dielectric and piezoelectric constants. PZN-PT ceramics with a composition close to the MPB processed by the conventional route yield ceramics with a pyrochlore structure. In the last few decades, attempts to synthesize PZN-PT powders with perovskite structure via traditional ceramic methods and novel chemical processing routes have failed. In the present research, an analysis was made of the effect of the calcination atmosphere on the formation of perovskite phase in PZN-10PT powders. To this end, thermal analyses were carried out in four different atmospheres: oxygen, air, argon and nitrogen. The powders were calcined at the temperatures at which the DTA curves presented peaks, and the resulting phases were identified by X-ray diffraction.