Effect of CeO2 addition on structure and electrical properties of (Na0.5Bi0.5)0.93Ba0.07TiO3 ceramics prepared by citric method

Abstract (Na 0.5 Bi 0.5 ) 0.93 Ba 0.07 TiO 3 ceramics added with 0–0.8 wt.% CeO 2 were prepared by a citrate method, and the influence of the CeO 2 addition on the structure and electrical properties was investigated. The specimens containing various amounts of CeO 2 show the coexistence of rhombohedral and tetragonal phases, with the relative content of the tetragonal phases gradually enhancing with increasing amount of CeO 2 . Compared with (Na 0.5 Bi 0.5 ) 0.93 Ba 0.07 TiO 3 , the specimen added with a small amount of CeO 2 (≤0.2 wt.%) display a slightly improved electromechanical coupling factor ( k p ) and piezoelectric constant ( d 33 ) in conjunction with a reduced dielectric loss (tg  δ ) and an enhanced mechanical quality factor ( Q m ), while higher CeO 2 amounts led to a rapid deterioration of the piezoelectric and ferroelectric properties. The variation of the electrical properties with the CeO 2 addition was tentatively interpreted with respect to doping effect, crystal-structural evolution and stability of ferroelectric domains.