Exploring ferroelectric properties of sol-gel lead zirconate titanate nano-crystalline thin films and ceramics by doping ytterbium for energy-storage application

Abstract

This work concerns how ytterbium affects the ferroelectric characteristics of sol-gel Yb doped lead zirconate (PYZ) and lead zirconate titanate (PYZT) thin films and ceramics. Lead zirconate Pb(0.9) )-Yb0.01 Zr (0.09 (PYZ) and lead zirconate titanate Pb0.9-Yb0.01-Zr0.045-Ti0.045 (PYZT) doping with ytterbium thin films were prepared on a glass substrate using a sol-gel doctor blade coating technique at low temperature. The structure of the synthesized thin films and ceramic nanocrystals was examined using X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and electron diffraction (ED). PYZ and PYZT ceramics had 11.8 nm and 30.65 nm respectively, whereas PYZ and PYZT thin films featured nanocrystals that were, respectively, 17.5 nm and 13.87 nm in size. Particle size was determined to be entirely consistent across the TEM and XRD data. Dielectric investigations showed that the dielectric constant was dropping for ceramic samples as compared to thin film samples. According to hysteresis loop estimates, the energy-storage density and efficiency for thin films and ceramics were average approximately 39.35 J cm−3 and 66.02 percent for (PYZ) and 71.33 J cm−3 and 70.91 percent for (PYZT), respectively. The results showed that the ferroelectric, dielectric, and structural properties of materials affected the ytterbium content. (PYZ) and (PYZT) thin films and ceramics may have a prospective use in energy storage devices.