LOWER-TEMPERATURE PREPARATION OF PB(MG1/3NB2/3)O3 WITH A PEROVSKITE STRUCTURE BY THE COMPLEX ALKOXIDE METHOD

Low temperature preparation of Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3 (PMN) with a perovskite structure was investigated using a Pb-Mg-Nb complex alkoxide synthesized by the reaction of Mg(OEt)2 and a Pb-Nb complex synthesized from Pb(OAc)2 and Nb(OEt)5. A PMN precursor powder with particles approximately 0.3-mu-m diameter was obtained by hydrolysis of the complex alkoxide in solution containing acetone with aqueous ammonia, while hydrolysis without acetone led to the formation of a gel-like powder. The powder crystallized to the perovskite phase directly from the amorphous state at a temperature as low as 300-degrees-C, although the gel-like powder crystallized to the perovskite phase at a temperatures > 700-degrees-C.