Improvement in the electrical properties of BCZT Ceramics induced by self-seeds

Abstract

© 2019, Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature. Ba0.85Ca0.15Zr0.10Ti0.90O3 (BCZT)-x seed ceramics were prepared, where BCZT seed (x) = 0.0, 1.0, 2.0, 3.0 and 4.0 mol%. The powder was calcined at 1200 °C for 2 h and sintered at 1450 °C for 4 h. Phase formation and surface morphology were analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscope (SEM). Dielectric, piezoelectric and ferroelectric properties of the ceramics were investigated. The results indicated that all samples showed pure perovskite phase. Density and grain size values were in the range of 5.54–5.62 g/cm3 and 9.40–10.42 μm, respectively. Electrical properties changed with BCZT seed content. Samples with 3.0 mol% seed had the highest phase transition temperature (Tc), piezoelectric coefficient (d33) and thickness electromechanical coupling coefficient (kt) with values of 93 °C, 520 pC/N and 48%, respectively. Moreover, dielectric loss (tan δ) at room temperature was lower than 0.014 for all samples (at 1 kHz).