Characterization of phase transitions on PbZrxTi(1-x)O3 nanocrystal ceramic materials synthesized using the molten salt method

Abstract

One of the piezoelectric materials is PbZr x Ti (1-x) O 3 (Lead Zirconate Titanate, namely PZT) which has the highest piezoelectric properties and is widely applied today. To improve the performance of materials, it is important to enhance the quality of materials, especially in the synthesis process. In this study, molten salt method was employed to synthesis PZT by using salt solution (NaCl and KCl) in accommodating the reaction of raw materials (Pb, ZrO 2 , and TiO 2 ). The synthesized particles of PZT nanocrystal ceramics have been successfully carried out at the sintering temperature of 875 ℃ for 4 hours. The separations of NaCl and KCl salt to obtain PZT products have been carried out by washing repeatedly with hot water at about 100 ℃. PbZr x Ti (1-x) O 3 samples with variations of x = 0.30, 0.42, 0.52, 0.58, and 0.70 mol were characterized using X-Ray Diffractometer and followed by analyzing crystal structures using highscore software through refinement process. One of the X-ray diffraction profiles at the angle (2q) between 42.5 and 47 o has indicated the phase transition from one peak (representing the rhombohedral crystal system with the plane (202)) to the two peaks (tetragonal with plane (002) and (200)). Regarding this phase transition, the morphotropic phase boundary (MPB) region (rhombohedral and tetragonal phase boundary region) has been successfully obtained at the composition x = 0.52 mol which was identical to the PbZr 0.52 Ti 0.48 O 3 compound. The largest particle size of crystallites for each rhombohedral and tetragonal phase is approximately equal to 906.117 A obtained at the composition x = 0.52 mol. The content of the rhombohedral phase decreases, while the content of the tetragonal phase increases if the value of x increases.