Freeze casting of lamellar-structured porous lead-free (Na 0.52 K 0.48 )(Nb 0.95 Sb 0.05 )O 3 piezoceramic with remarkable enhancement in piezoelectric voltage constant and hydrostatic figure of merit

The study reports the development of lamellar-structured, porous lead-free (Na0.52K0.48)(Nb0.95Sb0.05)O3 ceramics, abbreviated as NKNS, using the freeze-casting method with water as pore-forming agent. The effect of directional porosity on the microstructure, dielectric, and piezoelectric properties of the lead-free porous material is investigated. Furthermore, the effects of conventional and microwave sintering on microstructure and piezoelectric properties have also been analyzed. In addition, the study compares conventional and corona poling too. The results depicted no deterioration of piezoelectric properties (d33:130 pC/N), despite being ~ 50% porosity, along with reasonably good hydrostatic piezoelectric strain coefficient (dh: 60pC/N). The samples exhibited hydrostatic piezoelectric voltage coefficient (gh) of 58.70 mV.m/N providing a significant value of the hydrostatic figure of merit (HFOM = dh∙gh: 3522 × 10–15 Pa−1) for the porous NKNS ceramic which is nearly 39 times more than the dense ceramic. Considering its unique advantages such as environmental friendly, less dense, wide performance range with enhanced figure of merit, the lamellar-structured NKNS ceramic is a promising material for sensor and transducer applications.