Enhanced high-temperature piezoelectric properties of traditional Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 ceramics by a small amount substitution of KNbO3

Abstract

Crystal structure, piezoelectric, and dielectric properties were investigated on the (1-x)Pb(Zr0.54Ti0.46)O3-xKNbO3 system. The piezoelectric properties have been significantly improved by substituting a small amount of KNbO3. In the morphotropic phase boundary (x = 0.015), the compound not only shows enhanced piezoelectric coefficient d33 = 450 pC/N, which is two times larger than that of unmodified Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 (d33 = 223 pC/N), but also the Curie temperature (TC = ∼380 °C) is still well maintained at a high level. This phenomenon challenges our general knowledge that in piezoelectric materials the Curie temperature and piezoelectric properties are mutually contradictory. It should be noted that a giant total strain as high as 0.73% is also observed. The high thermal depoling temperature more than 300 °C combined with the excellent piezoelectric properties suggest it as a potential candidate for high temperature actuators and sensors applications.