Abstract
Lead-free 0.7BiFe1–2xZnxMnxO3–0.3BaTiO3 (BFZMx–BT) piezoceramics were prepared through the sol–gel method followed by a two-step sintering process. The crystal structure and microstructure were investigated by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, which revealed that the addition of Zn and Mn ions resulted in a noticeable modification of the microstructure. The BF–BT modification through (Zn, Mn) equivalent codoping induces grain size variation and oxygen vacancies, resulting in an enhancement in the Curie temperature, dielectric properties, polarization magnitude, and strain response. A large remnant polarization (2Pr = 94.6 μC/cm2), low leakage current (7.94 × 10?6 A/cm2), high Curie temperature (473 °C), excellent piezoelectric constant (d33 = 271 pC/N), high unipolar strain (0.353%), and high piezoelectric actuator constant (d33* = 441 pm/V) were obtained for BFZMx–BT ceramics with x = 0.04. These results not only demonstrate the remarkable effect of (Zn, Mn) codoping on the BiFeO3-based piezoceramics, but may also shed light on the development of advanced piezoelectric materials with high performance.
NSTL
Elsevier