Study of new rare earth family Pb1.6K1.2R0.2Nb5O15 (R=La, Nd, Sm, Eu and Gd) of tetragonal tungsten bronze-type ferroelectrics

A new ferroelectric rare earth family Pb1.6K1.2R0.2Nb5O15 with R=La, Nd, Sm, Eu and Gd (PKRN) of tetragonal tungsten bronze type ferroelectrics was synthesized. The ferroelectric transition with nonuniform distribution of critical temperature over a ceramic sample was found from dielectric measurements. According to X-ray diffraction measurements, the ferroelectric phase has an orthorhombic symmetry. The transition temperature was shown to decrease weakly with increasing radius of the rare earth ion R. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]