New K0.48Na0.52NbO3–Bi(Zn0.5Zr0.5)O3 lead-free ceramics: Microstructure and piezoelectricity

New (1–x)K0.48Na0.52NbO3–xBi(Zn0.5Zr0.5)O3 [(1–x)KNN–xBZZ] lead-free piezoceramics were prepared by the conventional solid state method. Effects of BZZ content on their phase structure, microstructure, and electrical properties were studied. As the BZZ content increases, both TO–T and TC gradually decrease, the dielectric constant increases and the dielectric loss almost decreases. The ceramic with x = 0.0075 has enhanced ferroelectric and piezoelectric properties (e.g., d33 ∼ 156 pC/N, kp ∼ 0.44, Pr ∼ 27.5 μC/cm2, and Ec ∼ 11.2 kV/cm). The underlying physical mechanism for enhanced electrical properties has been given. As a result, adding BZZ is an effective way to enhance the piezoelectric properties of KNN ceramics.