Structure and ferroelectricity of nonstoichiometric (Na0.5Bi0.5)TiO3

Stoichiometric (Na0.5Bi0.5)TiO3 (NBT) adopts the ABO3 perovskite structure with the A-site equally occupied by Na+ and Bi3+ ions. However, non-stoichiometric compositions can be synthesized intentionally or unintentionally. To determine the effect of A-site nonstoichiometry on the crystal structure and ferroelectricity of NBT, the composition of (Na0.5−xBi0.5+x)TiO3+x was varied using x = −0.01, −0.005, 0, 0.005, and 0.01. High resolution synchrotron x-ray diffraction and Rietveld refinement revealed that a shift in either direction from x = 0 results in a decrease in the spontaneous ferroelastic strain. Ferroelectric hysteresis and piezoelectric coefficients were found to be optimum in the stoichiometric composition.