Sodium potassium niobate nanoparticles [(K0.5Na0.5)NbO3, KNN], KNN-NPs, were synthesized using a modified sol–gel method. Structural and optical properties of the prepared samples were investigated by thermogravometric analyzer (TGA), X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Raman and UV–Vis spectroscopy. The XRD patterns showed that the formation of the orthorhombic KNN-NPs starts at 500○C calcination temperature. Raman spectroscopy was used to investigate the crystalline symmetry and the structural deformation of the prepared KNN-NPs. TEM images showed that the morphology of the prepared particles is cubic, with the average size of about 50 nm. From diffused reflectance spectroscopy along with using Kubelka–Munk method, the energy bandgaps were determined to be indirect with the values of 3.13 eVand 3.19 eV for the samples calcined at 500○C and 600○C, respectively.

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