Phase developments in Pb(Zn[Ta,Nb,W])O 3 -PbTiO 3 ternary ceramic compositions

The hard-to-synthesize lead-based zinc-bearing trio of Pb(Zn 1/3 Ta 2/3 )O 3 , Pb(Zn 1/3 Nb 2/3 )O 3 , and Pb(Zn 1/2 W 1/2 )O 3 (PZT, PZN, and PZW) were investigated to understand their structural stability and phase formation. A structure field map is used to discuss the capability of the trio compositions and combinations thereof, to form the perovskite structure, with PbTiO 3 (PT) introduced as a perovskite stabilizer. We identified the potential omission of the (111) reflections in two International Centre for Diffraction Data (ICDD) sets of a complex-rutile structure, [(Zn 1/3 Ta 2/3 ) 1/2 Ti 1/2 ]O 2 and [(Zn 1/3 Nb 2/3 ) 1/2 Ti 1/2 ]O 2 , and suggest that the intensities of the latter compound need to be re-examined. The perovskite structure started to develop at different fractions of PT, depending upon the species of the trio: PZN required the smallest amount of PT (< 20 mol%), whereas PZW required the greatest (≤ 80 mol%). The perovskite-stable composition area was the widest in PZT-PZN-PT and narrowest in PZW-PZT-PT, indicating the comparative ease/difficulty of perovskite formation among the trio compositions.