Unambiguous evidence of three coexisting ferroelectric phases in a lead-free Li$_{x}$Na$_{1-x}$NbO$_{3}$ system

TL;DR

This study provides clear evidence of three coexisting ferroelectric phases in a lead-free Li$_{x}$Na$_{1-x}$NbO$_{3}$ system, highlighting LNN20's potential for technological applications due to its exceptional dielectric and ferroelectric properties.

Contribution

The paper demonstrates the coexistence of three ferroelectric phases in Li$_{x}$Na$_{1-x}$NbO$_{3}$ and identifies LNN20 as a key composition with enhanced dielectric and ferroelectric responses.

Findings

Three coexisting ferroelectric phases in LNN system

LNN20 exhibits high dielectric permittivity and low loss

Presence of morphotropic phase boundary-like behavior in LNN20

Abstract

We report here the presence of three coexisting ferroelectric phases in a lead-free lithium sodium niobate (Li$_{x}$Na$_{1-x}$NbO$_{3}$; LNNx) system stable for $0.15 \leq x \leq 0.80$, which contrasts the review report of Dixon and Lightfoot [Phys. Rev. B $\textbf{97}$, 224105 (2018)]. More importantly, we have identified LNN20 as an important composition for technological applications due to its high dielectric permittivity, low loss, and high ferroelectric response. The anomalous dielectric and ferroelectric responses in LNN20 have been attributed to the morphotropic phase boundary like nature around this composition.