Cooperative behavior during ferroelectric transitions in KNO3 powder

Abstract

Experimental evidence of cooperative behavior during the ferroelectric phase transitions in granular and powder KNO3 at atmospheric pressure is presented. Three different experimental studies were performed in which phase transitions were detected and characterized by heat flow calorimetry: (1) the distribution of SiC powder in granular KNO3 was varied; (2) the volume fraction of SiC in powdered KNO3 was varied; and (3) pure KNO3 powder was thermally cycled. All three studies provided evidence of cooperative behavior between the KNO3 particles during the III-II phase transition. The cooperative behavior reduced the temperature range of phase III stability from ∼97–124 °C to that characteristic of bulk material (∼110–124 °C). Separate KNO3 particles behaved as individual ferroelectric domains, with each particle making the phase transition independently near the expected Curie temperature. Particles of KNO3 in intimate physical contact tended to behave cooperatively as a single large ferroelectric domain leading to sharper phase transitions more characteristic of single crystals. The degree of cooperative behavior was dependent upon the extent to which the individual particles were in physical contact. The absence of the III-II phase transition in KNO3 powder that has been reported in the literature can be understood from the results obtained using SiC powder to separate KNO3 particles during heat flow calorimetry measurements.