Effect of addition of Ba(W0.5Cu0.5)O3 in Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3–Pb(Zn1/3Nb2/3)O3–Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3 ceramics on the sintering temperature, electrical properties and phase transition

In this work, we report on the Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3–Pb(Zn1/3Nb2/3)O3–Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3 (PMN–PZN–PZT) ceramics with Ba(W0.5Cu0.5)O3 as the sintering aid that was manufactured in order to develop the low-temperature sintering materials for piezoelectric device applications. The phase transition, microstructure, dielectric, piezoelectric properties, and the temperature stability of the ceramics were investigated. The results showed that the addition of Ba(W0.5Cu0.5)O3 significantly improved the sintering temperature of PMN–PZN–PZT ceramics and could lower the sintering temperature from 1005 to 920 °C. Besides, the obtained Ba(W0.5Cu0.5)O3-doped ceramics sintered at 920 °C have optimized electrical properties, which are listed as follows: (Kp = 0.63, Qm = 1415 and d33 = 351 pC/N), and high depolarization temperature above 320 °C. These results indicated that this material was a promising candidate for high-power multilayer piezoelectric device applications.

Research highlights▶ Addition of 0.13 wt.% Ba(W1/2Cu1/2)O3 content could lower the sintering temperature from 1005 to 920 °C. The ceramics sintered at 920 °C could achieve optimized electrical properties and temperature stability. This material has been satisfied with the requirements of high-power piezoelectric ceramic devices.