Microstructure and properties of (Ba0.85Ca0.15)(Zr0.08Ti0.9Sn0.02)O3 lead-free ceramics modified by Bi2O3

ABSTRACTTo get excellent electrical properties of lead-free piezoelectric ceramic (Ba0.85Ca0.15)(Zr0.08Ti0.9Sn0.02)O3 [BCZTS], Bi2O3 was doped to modify BCZTS. The microstructure, phases and electrical properties were investigated by XRD, SEM and ferroelectric test instrument, respectively. The experimental results indicate that the ceramics have pure perovskite structure with 0–0.08 wt.% Bi2O3, indicating that the Bi2O3 diffused into the lattice of BCZTS. And when the content of Bi2O3 reaches to 0.06 wt.%, homogenous microstructure and no pores can be found in ceramic. The ceramic has optimized properties of d33 = 430 pC/N, kp = 49.1%, ϵr = 3998, tan δ = 1.3%. Furthermore, the Curie temperature (Tc) increases firstly and then decreases as increasing the doping amount of Bi2O3. The P-E loops for the ceramics are observed and the value of Pr and Ec is 8.08uC/cm2 and 3.45 kV/cm under 35 kV/cm, respectively.