Dielectric performance of pyrochlore-type Bi2MgNb2-xTaxO9 ceramics: The effects of tantalum doping

The solid solutions based on the pyrochlore-type system Bi₂MgNb_2-xTa_xO₉ were formed in the compositional range х = 0–2.0 (Bi_1·6Mg_0·8Nb_1.6-tTa_tO_7.2, t = 0–1.6). The Rietveld method was used to refine the structure for Bi₂MgNb_2-xTa_xO₉ (x = 0, 1.0, 2.0). The increasing tantalum content led to the slight decrease in the cubic unit cell parameters from 10.56934 (4) Å for x = 0 and 10.54607 (3) Å for x = 2 (sp.gr. Fd-3m:2). At the same time, tantalum additions suppressed grain growth in the pyrochlore ceramics during sintering and made it possible to obtain materials with an average grain size of 1–2 μm (Bi_1·6Mg_0·8Ta_1·6O_7.2). The increase in the Ta⁵⁺ concentration led to the decrease in the dielectric permeability from 104 (Bi_1·6Mg_0·8Nb_1·6O_7.2) to 20 (Bi_1·6Mg_0·8Ta_1·6O_7.2) at room temperature, while the dielectric loss tangent remained lower than 0.002, which is due to the small grain size and the high porosity of the samples. An increase in temperature has practically no effect on the values of the dielectric permittivity in the entire frequency range. The samples have weak through conductivity. The activation energies of electrical conductivity varied in the range of 0.84–1.00 eV, and the less tantalum, the lower the activation energy. The electrical properties of the samples at 200 Hz to 1 MHz are described by the simplest parallel scheme.     

Lead-free sodium niobate nanowires with strong piezo-catalysis for dye wastewater degradation

In this work, the hydrothermally-synthesized sodium niobate nanowires were used to decompose Rhodamine B dye solution through the piezo-catalytic effect. With the sodium niobate catalyst, a high piezo-catalytic degradation ratio of ～80% was achieved under the excitation of vibration for the Rhodamine B dye solution (～5?mg/l). These active species in the catalytic process, hydroxyl radicals and superoxide radicals with the strong oxidation ability, were also observed, which confirmed the key role of piezoelectric effect for piezo-catalysis. The piezo-catalysis of sodium niobate nanowires provides a high-efficiency and reusable tool in application in depredating the dye wastewater.     

Transparent niobate glass-ceramics for optical limiting

The construction of nonlinear optical materials featuring asymmetric transmission of light is of great technological importance for various applications, including optical switching and optical power limiting. A significant challenge is the scalable fabrication of material candidates with good photochemical stability, high optical transmittance, and excellent optical limiting performance. Here, we present a nanocrystallization avenue for constructing hybrid optical limiting materials that exhibit ultrafast and robust optical limiting performance. The experimental results show that the controllable relaxation of a niobate glass may lead to the clustering of Nb-O units and contracting of the bandgap. It results in the notable improvement in nonlinear optical properties, including the enhanced saturation irradiance (380 GW/cm²), doubly increased nonlinear coefficient, and decreased limiting threshold (200 GW/cm²). Our results suggest a promising material that exhibits promising applications for protecting eyes and sensitive components from laser-induced damage.     

On the Feasibility of Growing Pb[(Zn1/3Nb2/3)0.91Ti0.09]O3 Single Crystals

Pb[(Zn_1/3Nb_2/3)_0.91Ti_0.09]O₃ (PZNT91/9) single crystals were grown by two methods: from solution using PbO as a self‐fluxing agent (SC method) and directly from the melt without fluxing (MC method). In both growth methods, an allomeric Pb[(Mg_1/3‐Nb_2/3)_0.69Ti_0.31]O₃ (PMNT69/31) single crystal was used as a seed. X‐ray diffraction patterns of ground crystals showed that phase‐pure perovskite PZNT91/9 single crystals were successfully fabricated by the above two methods. The composition of the crystals obtained by both the SC and MC methods was analyzed using X‐ray fluorescence, which confirmed that the crystal composition is close to the nominal value, although volatilization of PbO and segregation during crystal growth are inevitable. The MC PZNT91/9 crystals exhibit excellent piezoelectric properties, with the piezoelectric constant, d₃₃, in the range of 1800–2200 pC N^–1. This value is comparable to that of the SC crystals. However, the MC crystals show an abnormal dielectric behavior. In contrast with the SC crystals, in the MC crystals a much broader dielectric peak appears in the dielectric response curves, accompanied by a much lower peak temperature of around 105 °C. Furthermore, frequency dispersion is apparent over a much wider temperature range (even more apparent than in pure relaxors), where a large, i.e., about 70 °C, full width at half maximum (FWHM) for the dielectric peaks is observed in the dielectric response. It is speculated that such an unusual phenomenon correlates with defects, microinhomogeneities, and polar regions in the as‐grown MC crystals. The origins of this abnormality have not been interpreted in detail until now. However, optical observation of the domain structure confirms that both the SC and MC crystals possess complex structural states.     

Effect of calcination conditions on phase formation and particle size of nickel niobate powders synthesized by solid-state reaction

The solid-state mixed oxide method via a rapid vibro-milling technique is explored in the preparation of single-phase nickel niobate (NiNb₂O₆) powders. The formation of the NiNb₂O₆ phase in the calcined powders has been investigated as a function of calcination conditions by TG-DTA and XRD techniques. Morphology, particle size and chemical composition have been determined via a combination of SEM and EDX techniques. It has been found that the minor phases of unreacted NiO and Nb₂O₅ precursors and the Ni₄Nb₂O₉ phase tend to form together with the columbite NiNb₂O₆ phase, depending on calcination conditions. More importantly, it is seen that optimization of calcination conditions can lead to a single-phase NiNb₂O₆ in an orthorhombic phase.     

铜掺杂对(Na0.5K0.5)NbO3无铅压电陶瓷性能的影响

采用传统固相反应法对(Na0.5K0.5)NbO3压电陶瓷进行铜掺杂改性研究。使用SEM、XRD并结合常规压电陶瓷性能测试手段对该体系的显微结构、压电性能等进行表征。研究结果表明:CuO的掺入使材料出现“硬化”现象,即材料的压电系数d33、平面机电耦合系数Kp和介电损耗tanδ下降了,机械品质因子Qm大大提高;CuO掺入量在1%mol时各项性能最佳。另外,从SEM图片中可以看出:(Na0.5K0.5)NbO3压电陶瓷材料的平均晶粒尺寸随着CuO掺入量的增加明显变大。这表明CuO有烧结助熔作用,能降低烧成温度。     

Zn:Fe:LiNbO3单晶的坩埚下降法生长及其成分研究

通过优选合适的化学原料，用坩埚下降法生长出了无宏观缺陷的Zn：Fe：LiNbO3(Zn：Fe：LN)单晶。生长的工艺参数是：用微凸生长界面生长，生长速度为1～3mm／h，温度梯度为20～30℃／cm。用X射线衍射及DTA对晶体进行了分析；测定了晶体的吸收光谱。结果表明：所有Zn：Fe：LN晶体中的Fe^2 浓度沿生长方向增加；掺杂3％ZnO(摩尔分数)的Zn：Fe：LN单晶中的Fe^2 浓度沿生长方向的变化量比掺杂6％ZnO的大。从坩埚下降法的温场特点、晶体的热处理过程、环境气氛，以及ZnO组分对Fe离子的排斥作用解释了产生Fe^2 离子浓度变化的原因。     

不同Li/Nb摩尔比In∶Fe∶LiNbO_3晶体的生长及其光学性能

在Li NbO3(LN)中掺摩尔分数为1%的In和掺质量分数为0.03%的Fe,用提拉法技术生长具有不同n(Li)/n(Nb)[n(Li)/n(Nb)=0.94,1.05,1.20,1.38]的In∶Fe∶LN晶体。测试不同n(Li)/n(Nb)的In∶Fe∶LN晶体的吸收光谱、抗光致散射能力和指数增益系数,并计算晶体的有效载流子浓度。结果表明晶体样品随着n(Li)/n(Nb)增加,吸收光谱的吸收边发生紫移,抗光致散射能力增加,指数增益系数和有效载流子浓度增大。采用n(Li)/n(Nb)=1.38的In∶Fe∶LN晶体作记录介质,n(Li)/n(Nb)=1.05的In∶Fe∶LN晶体作位相共轭镜进行全息关联存储实验。实验表明存储系统具有实时处理,成像质量好,信噪比高和能反复使用等优点。     

压电陶瓷变压器材料PMMN-PZT的研究

研究了一种四元系压电陶瓷变压器材料PMMN -PZT。XRD分析证明 ,采用二步法预合成的PMMN -PZT粉料不如一步法 ;SEM分析进一步证实了一步法预合成的粉料能制成性能更好的陶瓷样品。造粒工艺对陶瓷样品的显微结构和压电性能也有重要的影响。最后制得了性能较好的PMMN -PZT压电陶瓷材料 ,其Kp=0 .5 18,Qm=3887,tanδ =0 .71% ,εT3 3 /ε0 =70 1,d3 3 =2 0 3,基本上能满足压电变压器的要求