Effect of ZnO additions to Na_0.47K_0.47Li_0.06NbO₃ ceramics prepared by ceramic method using high energy ball milling and sintered by microwave technique

Abstract

Conventional high temperature sintering of alkali niobates piezoceramics often leads to volatilization of constituent materials and poor densification resulting in deterioration of important properties. ZnO added sodium potassium lithium niobates (NKLN) piezoceramics having compositional formula Na0.47K0.47Li0.06NbO3 + y ZnO (y = 0wt.%, 0.5wt.%, 1.0wt.%, 1.5wt.%, 2.0wt.%) were prepared ceramic method using high energy ball mill and sintered by microwave technique at 1000°C for 20 mins. The phase structure of the prepared samples has been studied by using XRD. The electrical properties of the prepared sample such as dielectric constant, dielectric loss and ac conductivity were measured in the range 50 Hz-2 MHz. It is observed that NKLN sample added with 2 wt.% ZnO has the highest remnant polarization value of 0.723μC/cm2 and the piezoelectric coefficient, d33 value of ∼ 25 pC/N. The results have been discussed.