Spheroidization of lithium niobate powder by radio-frequency inductively coupled plasma

To solve the problem that lithium niobate is difficult to process into microspheres, a method of spheroidizing lithium niobate powder twice by radio-frequency inductively coupled plasma (RF-ICP) was proposed. The morphology, phase composition and particle size of primary and secondary spheroidized lithium niobate powders were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and laser particle size analysis, respectively. The results show that the powder with a larger particle size is difficult to spheroidize and easily cracks, while the powder with a smaller particle size is elliptical without cracks after primary spheroidization. Nearly all spherical lithium niobate powder can be obtained after secondary spheroidization. In addition, the crystal steps grow during the solidification of the powder. The smaller the curvature of the powder surface, the more obvious the crystal growth. Lithium niobate loses part of lithium after spheroidization, and the loss of lithium increases with the decrease of particle size.