Rapid formation of lead magnesium niobate-based ferroelectric ceramics via a high-energy ball milling process

Pyrochlore-free nano-sized 0.90Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3(PMN)–0.10PbTiO3(PT) and 0.65PMN–0.35PT powders were synthesized from oxides via a high-energy ball milling process. Single perovskite phase PMN–PT were readily formed from the oxide mixture after milling for only 2 h. The grain size calculated from X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns of all samples is about 20 nm, which is in agreement with the observation from scanning electron microscopy (SEM) (20–50 nm). PMN–PT ceramics were obtained by sintering the milled powders at temperature from 1000 to 1100°C for 2 h. The dielectric, ferroelectric properties of the PMN–PT ceramics derived from the synthesized powders were comparable with the reported results in the literature.