Lead-free Ba0.9Ca0.1Ti0.9Zr0.1O3 piezoelectric ceramics processed below 1300 °C

•Low temperature processing was performed in Ba0.9Ca0.1Ti0.9Zr0.1O3 ceramics.•Pechini method allowed synthesizing Ba0.9Ca0.1Ti0.9Zr0.1O3 at low temperature.•Sintered ceramics at 1250 and 1275 °C showed good piezoelectric properties.•Fine grained BCZT ceramics, are achieved at low temperature.

Ba0.9Ca0.1Ti0.9Zr0.1O3 (BCTZ) lead-free piezoelectric ceramics were successfully prepared by Pechini polymeric precursor method using low thermal treatments. XRD analysis shows single-phase perovskite type structure for powders synthesized at 700 °C for 1 h. Dense ceramics were obtained from these reactive precursors using sintering temperatures below 1300 °C (1200 °C, 1250 °C and 1275 °C for 5 h). The ceramics sintered at 1275 °C for 5 h exhibited the best ferro–piezoelectric properties: d33 = 390 pC/N, d31 = −143 pC/N, kp = 50% , ε33T=2253 and tan δ = 0.06 (100 kHz) at room temperature, TC = 112 °C, 2Pr = 24 μC/cm2 and 2EC = 4.07 kV/cm. Dense ceramics sintered at 1250 °C for 5 h (97% theoretical density) have average grain size ≈5 μm, TC = 115 °C and high ferro–piezoelectric performance (d33 = 340 pC/N, kp = 49%). The high piezoelectric sensitivity is due to the high polarizability of the ceramics at local level.