Phase formation, piezoelectric, dielectric and mechanical properties of (Pb1−xBax)ZrO3 ceramics

(Pb1−xBax)ZrO3 ceramics for the composition range 0.0 ≤ x ≤ 0.3 were prepared by mixed oxide solid-state reaction method. Phase formation, microstructure, piezoelectric, dielectric and mechanical properties were studies. It was found that the density of the ceramics decreases with increasing amounts of Ba2+, whilst the average grain size is in the range of 1.0–2.3 μm. The structure of as-calcined powder revealed that, the fraction of the orthorhombic phase is decreasing with increasing Ba2+ content. The mechanical properties of the ceramics were studied by Vickers and Knoop microhardness testers. The values of Vickers and Knoop hardness are in the range of 4.10–6.48 and 4.15–5.67 GPa respectively. The d33 values of the samples increases from ∼0 to 87 pC/N with increasing Ba2+ concentration from x = 0.0–0.3. The dielectric constant at room temperature increases with increasing of Ba2+ concentration. The results indicated that Ba2+ concentration has a significant effect on the electrical properties in PBZ ceramics.