Enhanced piezoelectric properties of BaZrO 3 -substituted 0.67BiFeO 3 -0.33BaTiO 3 lead-free ceramics

Lead-free ceramics with compositions of (1− x )[0.67Bi 1.05 FeO 3 -0.33BaTiO 3 ]- x BaZrO 3 ( x = 0.00, 0.01, 0.02, 0.03, 0.04, and 0.05) [BF-BT-BZ x ] have been prepared through a conventional solid-state reaction method. The effects of BZ substitution on the crystal structural, microstructural, piezoelectric, and electrical properties of the ceramics were investigated. The X-ray diffraction patterns revealed that all ceramics were formed with a mixed structure of rhombohedral and tetragonal perovskite phases. For x = 0.03, good ferroelectric and piezoelectric properties were observed: 2 P r = 43 μ C/cm 2 and 2 E c = 61 kV/cm. The static- and dynamic-piezoelectric constants were observed to be 52 pC/N and 330 pm/V, respectively.