Study on microstructure, piezoelectric and dielectric properties of 3-3 porous PZT composites

Abstract

Porous lead zirconate titanate (PZT) composites are used for low frequency hydrophones due to their high hydrostatic figure of merit, and low sound velocity. Porous PZT composite materials manufactured using varied percentage of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) as a pore-forming agent was studied, to understand the effect of PMMA on microstructure and dielectric properties. Properties such as the density, porosity, transverse piezoelectric coefficient, dielectric constant, and dielectric loss factor were studied as a function of PMMA. Porous PZT composites (with 30% PMMA) show lower piezoelectric transverse coefficient (−78 pC/N) and dielectric constant (116) as compared to homogeneous PZT. At a frequency of 1 MHz, the dielectric constant decreases and dielectric loss increases with increase in PMMA. This paper describes the effect of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) as a pore-forming agent on dielectric properties and microstructure of porous PZT composites.