Abstract
ABSTRACTBy the solid-state reaction route, (Ba0.85Ca0.15-x Cex) (Zr0.1Ti0.9) O3 (BCCeZT) lead-free piezoelectric ceramics were prepared. The powder was processed at 1250 ºC for 2 h, and compacted green bodies were then sintered at various sintering temperatures. X-ray diffraction analysis and Raman spectra confirmed the rhombohedral-tetragonal phase coexistence of x = 0–0.00131. Addition of CeO2 facilitated development of grain sizes greater than 10 μm at low sintering temperatures. The effects of grain size on the ferroelectric and piezoelectric properties were studied systematically and it was found that a ~ (10–12) μm grain size is critical for the processing of high-performance lead-free BCCeZT ceramics. CeO2 substitution at the A site may bring down the sintering temperature by about 200 °C without significant loss of properties. The best properties were obtained for x = 0.00131 at a low sintering temperature of 1350°C for 4 h exhibiting d33 = 501 ± 10 pC/N, kp = 38.5 ± 1.92 %, Pr = 12.19 μC/cm2, TC = 108.1°C, and a large strain of 0.14%. These results show that BCCeZT ceramics could be promising candidates for the fabrication of lead-free devices.
Highlights
For many years, lead-derived piezoelectric materials such as lead zirconate titanate (PZT) have been used for various applications including sensors, fuel injectors, actuators, and transducers due to their excellent piezoelectric properties [1]
The demand for the replacement of these ceramics has emerged as a result, and research is focused on the development of new leadfree efficient ceramic systems whose properties are comparable to PZT [2,3,4,5,6,7]
A significant research is being done on lead-free ceramics in which dependence on grain size of their physical and functional properties has been reported
Summary
Lead-derived piezoelectric materials such as lead zirconate titanate (PZT) have been used for various applications including sensors, fuel injectors, actuators, and transducers due to their excellent piezoelectric properties [1]. In 2009, Lui and Ren reported a new lead-free ceramic system (Ba0.2 Zr0.8) TiO3–x(Ba0.7 Ca0.3)TiO3 (BZT)–x(BCT), are commonly referred to as BCZT that represents excellent piezoelectric properties at x = 0.5 [8] that are mainly comparable to those of their lead-based counterparts. This ceramic system has similar morphotropic phase boundaries (MPB) to PZT except for its strong dependence on temperature and stoichiometry. Cui et al [29] used CeO2 as an additive with BCZT lead-free systems mainly to reduce the sintering temperature while maintaining a very high piezoelectric constant of d33 = 600 pC/N. Scanning electron microscopy (JEOL 6060LV, Japan) was used for the investigation of surface morphologies, and the grain size was calculated by the linear intercept method
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