Effects of NiO Nanoparticles on Physical and Mechanical Properties of BNKT Lead-Free Ceramics

In this research, The effects of NiO nanoparticles on the physical and mechanical properties of Bi0.5(Na0.81,K0.19)0.5TiO3 (BNKT) were investigated. The ceramics were synthesized by solid state reaction technique. The powder of BNKT was calcined at 850 °C for 4 h. The ceramics of BNKT/x NiO vol.% ( i.e. x= 0.0, 1.0, 2.0 and 3.0) were sintered at 1000-1150 °C for 2 h for optimize condition. Densification, phase formation, microstructure and micro hardness of samples were characterized via Archimedes method, X-ray diffraction techniques (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and Vickers micro hardness tester. The X-ray diffraction analysis of the ceramics suggests that all samples exhibited a perovskite structure. Densification of samples tended to increase with increasing amount of NiO content with minimun at 1.0 vol.% NiO additive. The NiO additive influenced densification as well as the mechanical properties of the samples. The results of this research suggest that NiO nanoparticles have influence on physical and mechanical properties of BNKT ceramics.