Abstract
Single crystals of a solid solution of the two ferroelectric compounds PbSc0·5Ta0·5O3 and PbSc0·5Nb0·5O3 have been prepared by a flux mixture method, with the chemical formula PbSc0·5(Nb0·2Ta0·3)O3. The first order ferroelectric-paraelectric phase transition is observed at 44(± 1)°C. X-ray and transmission electron microscopy analyses have shown that this new material exhibits a degree of order greater than 0·9 for the {111} -type ordering with an average size of domains around 60 nm. Moreover, the existence of 110-superstructure reflections is attributed to another atomic distribution on the B site, between Sc3 + and Nb5 +/Ta5 cations, with a tetragonal unit cell.