Sol-gel auto-combustion synthesis of K_xNa_(1-x)NbO_3 nanopowders and ceramics: Dielectric and piezoelectric properties

The KxNa1-xNbO3 nanopowders with cubic-like morphology and an average size of about 50 nm were synthesized by sol-gel auto-combustion method.And then,the ceramics were prepared and the phase transition,microstructure and electrical properties of the KxNa1-xNbO3 ceramics were investigated.Pure perovskite phases of the KxNa1-xNbO3 ceramics were confirmed by XRD patterns and the K0.50Na0.50NbO3 ceramics show the coexistence of orthorhombic and monoclinic structures.SEM micrographs show that all samples have bimodal grain size distributions and the number of the small grains decrease with increasing K+content in the bimodal grain size distribution system.The K0.50Na0.50NbO3 ceramics with the uniform grain size and the maximum density show excellent electrical properties withεr=467.40,tanδ=0.020,d33=128 pC/N and kp=0.32 at the room temperature,demonstrating that the properties of the K0.50Na0.50NbO3 powers prepared by sol-gel auto-combustion are excellent and the ceramics are promising lead-free piezoelectric materials.

Synthesis and electromagnetic absorption properties of micro-nano nickel powders prepared with liquid phase reduction method

Monodisperse micro-nano nickel powders have been prepared by chemical reduction of aqueous solution NiSO_(4),NaOH and NaH_(2)PO_(2),and the influence of pH value and initial concentration of NiSO_(4) on the size,structure,morphology and microwave absorption properties of nickel powders were investigated.The crystal structure of nickel powders was characterized by X-ray diffraction(XRD).And the morphology of the as-synthesized products was characterized by scanning electron microscopy(SEM)and transmission electron microscopy(TEM).The microwave absorption properties of the composite materials were characterized by network analyzer.The result indicates that the growth of nickel powders produced by NiSO_(4) and NaH_(2)PO_(2) at alkaline condition deeply relies on pH value and initial concentration of NiSO_(4) in reaction system.Different sizes of nickel powders with the diameter of 1.5μm and 180 nm were produced at the pH value of 10 and initial concentration of NiSO_(4) at 0.5 mol/L.The network analyzer showed definite microwave absorption properties of nickel powders with different sizes in the range of 0.5-18.0 GHz.

Improved energy storage performance of bismuth sodium titanate-based lead-free relaxor ferroelectric ceramics via Bi-containing complex ions doping

Lead-free dielectric ceramics can be used to make quick charge-discharge capacitor devices due to their high power density.Their use in advanced electronic systems,however,has been hampered by their poor energy storage performance(ESP),which includes low energy storage efficiency and recoverable energy storage density(Wrec).In this work,we adopted a combinatorial optimization strategy to improve the ESP in(Bi_(0.5)Na_(0.5))TiO_(3)(BNT)-based relaxor ferroelectric ceramics.To begin,the Bi-containing complex ions Bi(Mg_(2/3)Nb_(1/3))O_(3)(BMN)were introduced into a BNT-based matrix in order to improve the diffuse phase transition,increase Bi-O bond coupling,avoid macro domain development,and limit polarization response hysteresis.Second,the viscous polymer process was employed to reduce sample thickness and porosity,resulting in an apparent increase in breakdown strength in(1-x)[0.7(Bi_(1/2)Na_(1/2))TiO_(3)]-0.3SrTiO_(3)-xBi(Mg_(2/3)Nb_(1/3))O_(3)(BS-xBMN)ceramics.Finally,in x=0.20 composition,an amazing Wrecof 5.62 J·cm^(-3)and an ultra-high efficiency of 91.4%were simultaneously achieved at a relatively low field of 330 kV·cm^(-1),together with remarkable temperature stability in the temperature range of 30-140℃(3.5 J·cm^(-3)±5%variation).This research presents a new lead-free dielectric material with superior ESP for use in pulsed power capacitors.

Temperature-stable dielectric properties from 100 to 375℃ in system (K0.495Na0.495La0.01)(Nb0.997Cu0.0075)O3-Bi(Mg0.5Zr0.5)O3

(1-x)(K(0.495)Na(0.495)La(0.01))(Nb(0.997)Cu(0.0075))O3-xBi(Mg(0.5)Zr(0.5))O3(abbreviated as KNLNC-xBMZ) ceramics were designed and prepared.The phase transition,microstructure and electrical properties of the ceramics were investigated.The phase structures of the ceramics transform from orthorhombic to pseudocubic phases and the grain sizes decrease gradually with BMZ content(x) increasing.Additionally,BMZ additions can significantly enhance the dielectric temperature stability and decrease the dielectric loss of ceramics over a relatively broad temperature range.KNLNC-0.02 BMZ ceramics exhibit high dielectric permittivity(εr=1542) and small variation(Δεr/ε(r150℃)≤±15%)in dielectric permittivity from 100 to 375℃,and low dielectric loss(tanδ≤2%) in the temperature range of 100-350℃,which suggests that this ceramic is a candidate for high-temperature capacitor application.