Effects of ZnCl2 addition on the ZnNb2O6 powder synthesis through molten salt method

The ZnNb2O6 powder synthesis was carried out using the molten salt method in the present study. With an inorganic salt mixture of KCl–NaCl as a solvent, the ZnNb2O6 powder could be only obtained at 600 °C while in the cases of temperatures above 600 °C large amount of impurity of NaNbO3 was present in the products. With the ZnCl2 addition into the solvent, both the XRD and the SEM examinations showed that the NaNbO3 could be successfully prevented from formation in a wide temperature range of 600–800 °C and pure ZnNb2O6 were obtained. Besides, the formed ZnNb2O6 rods were noticeably larger with ZnCl2 present.