Effects of V2O5 doping on the structure and electrical properties of BCZT lead-free piezoelectric ceramics

Lead-free (Ba0.85Ca0.15)(Ti0.9Zr0.1)O3-x mol%V2O5 (x = 0, 0.05, 0.15, 0.20 and 0.50) were fabricated successfully via solid-state reaction route and the effects of V2O5 doping on the phase composition, microstructure and electrical properties of the ceramics have also been studied. The results indicated that the addition of V2O5 significantly lower the sintering temperature of BCZT ceramics to 1350 °C without sacrificing the high piezoelectrical properties. XRD results revealed that the phase structure was not changed with the introduction of V2O5. The sinterablity results and the SEM graphs indicated that small amount of V2O5 could effectively increase the density and grain size of BCZT ceramics. However, the electrical properties of BCZT ceramics deteriorate rapidly when the amount of V2O5 up to 0.5 mol%. Thus, the piezoelectrical properties of BCZT-xV ceramics could be obtained at x = 0.2 mol%, which were as following: d33 = 466 pC/N, kp = 32.5%, Qm = 162, Pr = 7.735 µC/cm2, er = 3104 and tan δ = 0.03, implying promising applications for lead-free piezoelectric ceramics.