Processing and Characterization of BCZT-Modified BiFeO3-BaTiO3 Piezoelectric Ceramics

Abstract

The synthesis of non-lead piezoelectric ceramics (1–z)(0.65Bi1.05Fe2O3-0.35BaTiO3)-z Ba(Ti0.8Zr0.2)O3-(Ba0.7Ca0.3)TiO3 using a solid state method and a quenching strategy was investigated. The processing conditions such as the sintering temperature and soaking time were optimized. The patterns of X-ray diffraction (XRD) displayed a pure perovskite structure with no secondary phases. The ferroelectric and piezoelectric characteristics of the samples were considerably improved as a result of the lattice strain. The findings of the experiment revealed that the quenching technique increases the piezoelectric sensor constant of 152 pC/N in optimized conditions. The enhanced piezoelectric sensor constant (d33) value at z = 0.020 was ascribed to the incorporation of multi-cationic BCZT, which modified the bond lengths at a unit cell level and gave rise to more flexibility in complex domain switching. This facilitated easier domain alignment in response to the applied field and resulted in an improvement in the electrical properties.