Mechanical reinforcement and piezoelectric properties of nanocomposites embedded with ZnO nanowhiskers

Lead zirconate titanate (PZT)-based nanocomposites embedded with ZnO nanowhiskers (ZnOw) were fabricated by solid state processing. There were no unwanted reaction phases between the PZT and ZnOw. Compared with monolithic PZT, the mechanical properties increased significantly and the piezoelectric properties decreased slightly. Several probable mechanisms of whiskers responsible for reinforcement of the PZT/ZnOw nanocomposites are proposed.