Hydrothermal synthesis of sodium-potassium niobate nanopowders

Sodium-potassium Niobate (K0.4Na0.6NbO3, KNN) nanopowders were prepared by hydrothermal synthesis at the temperature range of 140-180 degrees C for 12-48h using Nb2O5, NaOH and KOH as source materials. By means of XRD and SEM techniques, the effects of composition and hydrothermal treatment process, such as the rate of [R]/[Nb], the concentration of the alkali, the hydrothermal treatment temperature and the hydrothermal treatment time, on the microstructures and the crystallinity of alkali metals niobate were investigated in details. Results show that K0.4Na0.6NbO3 powders could be achieved by hydrothermal synthesis at the temperature range of 140-180 degrees C with the alkalinity concentration of 2-8M. With the increase of hydrothermal reaction temperature and time, the crystallinity of KNN particles was improved. The obtained K0.4Na0.6NbO3 polycrystalline particles have rhombic structure.