Enhanced energy storage and temperature-stable dielectric properties in (1-x)[(Na0.4K0.1Bi0.5)0.94Ba0.06TiO3]-xLa0.2Sr0.7TiO3 lead-free relaxor ceramics

Abstract

With the continuous growth in sustainable and renewable technologies, ceramic capacitors are emerging as a promising energy storage device. Lead-free (1-x)[(Na0.4K0.1Bi0.5)0.94Ba0.06TiO3]-xLa0.2Sr0.7TiO3 (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.40) ceramics were prepared using the solid-state reaction technique for obtaining relaxor characteristics with improved energy storage density, efficiency, and temperature stability of dielectric permittivity. A high recoverable energy density (Wr) ∼ 2.39 J/cm3 with a good efficiency (η) of ∼ 75.21% was obtained for x = 0.30 composition under 220 kV/cm applied field. The specimen x = 0.30 exhibited excellent fatigue resistance during 105 cycles and good temperature stability of energy storage characteristics (Wr > 0.87 J/cm3, η > 74%) in the temperature range of 25–180 °C under 100 kV/cm. In addition, the temperature range in which the dielectric permittivity variation was less than ±15% was very wide (204 °C (63–267 °C) and 275 °C (39–314 °C) for x = 0.30 and 0.20 specimens, respectively). Significant improvements in material performance were attributed to A-site engineering, which resulted in a mixture of P4bm and R3c polar nano regions (PNRs), leading to reduced hysteresis loss and temperature-stable dielectric permittivity. Additionally, the size of PNRs ranged between 3 and 6 nm, with the P4bm phase dominating in the x = 0.30 specimen, leading to a large maximum polarization under an applied electric field. Therefore, (1-x)[(Na0.4K0.1Bi0.5)0.94Ba0.06TiO3]-xLa0.2Sr0.7TiO3 relaxor ceramics are promising for high energy density materials and electronic applications requiring high permittivity stability over a wide temperature range.