Synthesis and characterization of sol–gel derived Ba0.85Ca0.15Ti0.9Zr0.1O3−xCuO ceramics

Ba0.85Ca0.15Ti0.9Zr0.1O3 powders were synthesized by sol–gel processing and Ba0.85Ca0.15Ti0.9Zr0.1O3−xCuO piezoelectric ceramics were prepared using the as-prepared powders. Microstructures and electric properties of the ceramics were studied, especially, the effects of CuO additive on the sintering characteristics and electric properties. Both the performance and the sintering behaviour of BCTZ ceramics are improved by using as-prepared Ba0.85Ca0.15Ti0.9Zr0.1O3 powders and CuO as a sintering aid. BCTZ ceramic with 1.5 mol% CuO exhibits good electric properties: er ∼ 5338 (10 kHz), tan δ ∼ 0.014 (10 kHz), d33 ∼ 670 pC N−1 and kp ∼ 57.8% at room temperature.