Research in the field of ferroelectric materials has significantly increased in recent years because of exceptional electronic and optical properties. In this study, amorphous materials of potassium niobiate (KNbO3) for an application in an electro-optical product design and manufacture were fabricated by a Win-roller quenching method, and structural and thermal properties were studied through various post-annealing processes. Four anomalies of crystallization were observed in the DTA results of the amorphous KNbO3. The activation energies calculated by the Ozawa method were approximately 164 kJ/mol, 251 kJ/mol, 150 kJ/mol, and 216 kJ/mol. To investigate the process of crystallization structurally, the amorphous KNbO3 was post-annealed and the intermediate phase of K4Nb6O17 was found when heat-treated in the temperature range 550 degrees C to 800 degrees C before the formation of the perovskite KNbO3 phase.

Keywords: Ferroelectric; KNbO3; glass; crystallization; activation energy; amorphous; perovskite; pyrochlore