Thermal stabilities of electromechanical properties in cobalt-modified strontium bismuth titanate (SrBi4Ti4O15)

•A high level of piezoelectric performance (d33∼28 pC/N)is obtained.•High Curie temperature (Tc∼528 °C) is acquired for the optimal composition.•The SBT-3Co exhibits good thermal stabilities of electromechanical properties.•The Co-modified SrBi4Ti4O15 is promising as high temperature piezoelectric material.

Bismuth layer-structured ferroelectric (BLSF) strontium bismuth titanate (SrBi4Ti4O15, SBT) ceramic oxides with B-site cobalt substitutions have been synthesized using conventional solid–state reaction. The dielectric, piezoelectric, and ferroelectric properties of cobalt-modified SBT are investigated in detail. The results indicate that cobalt is very effective in promoting the piezoelectric performance of SBT. The SBT modified with 3 mol% Co3+ (SBT-3Co) exhibits the optimized piezoelectric properties, with a piezoelectric constant d33 of 28 pC/N, which is the highest value among the modified SBT-based piezoelectric ceramics ever reported. The temperature-dependent electrical impedance, resonance frequencies, and electromechanical coupling factors (kp and kt) reveal that the cobalt-modified SBT ceramics have good thermal stabilities of electromechanical properties up to 300 °C. These results demonstrate that the cobalt-modified SBT ceramics are promising materials for high temperature piezoelectric sensors applications.

Graphical abstractThe manuscript deals with the thermal stabilities of piezoelectric properties of cobalt-modified SrBi4Ti4O15 (SBT) ceramics. The 3 mol% Co3+ modified SBT (SBT-3Co) ceramics exhibit a piezoelectric constant d33 of 28 pC/N and a Curie temperature Tc of 528 °C. The SBT-3Co ceramics have good thermal stabilities of electromechanical properties up to 300 °C.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide