Low‐Temperature Synthesis of Ba(Mg1/3Ta2/3)O3 Ceramics from Ba‐Mg‐Ta Alkoxide Precursor

Abstract
BMT perovskite ceramics were synthesized at low temperature (∼100°C) by chemical processing comprised of the hydrolysis of Ba‐Mg‐Ta alkoxide precursor. FT‐IR and Raman spectroscopic studies of the Ba‐Mg‐Ta ethoxide precursor reveal that barium, magnesium, and tantalum ethoxides are bonded with each other via alkoxy bridging to form a trimetallic alkoxide. The hydrolysis of the Ba‐Mg‐Ta ethoxide with a large amount of water under refluxing results in the direct formation of a crystalline BMT phase with the pseudocubic perovskite structure at a low temperature of ∼100°C. The alkoxide‐derived BMT powder has high sinterability to provide a high‐density sintered body with a density of 94.0–98.0% at a low firing temperature of 1400°C.