Synthesis of Nanosized Ba(Zn1/3Nb2/3)O3 Using Microwave Heating Process

Ba(Zn_1/3Nb_2/3)O₃ (BZN) powder was synthesized through microwave heating process. The formation of BZN phase started at 500 °C and completed at 1000 °C. BZN was also synthesized through the conventional process for comparison. In the microwave processing, the time needed to heat BZN sample from room temperature to 1000 °C, the temperature at which the synthesis was complete, was 26 min. However, in the conventional heating, to obtain complete formation of BZN phase, the sample was heated at 1000 °C for 60 min. TEM analysis showed that the approximate sizes of the crystallites of the powders formed for both methods were between 100 and 250 nm. TEM observation of BZN powders prepared through both processes also revealed that particles are highly aggregated.