Effect of Fe substitution on the piezoelectric, dielectric and ferroelectric properties of PNZST ceramics

Fe-doped (Pb0.99Nb0.02)[(Zr0.70Sn0.30)0.52Ti0.48]0.98O3 (PNZST) ceramics were prepared via conventional solid state reaction method, and the effect of Fe doping on their structural and electrical properties was investigated in detail. Results showed that Fe3+ cations could dissolve into readily the B-sites of perovskite structure for the PNZST ceramics with the less amount of Fe content (≤0.8 wt%), resulting in the full densification after sintered at 1300 °C. Meanwhile, Fe doping caused a structure transform from the tetragonal to the rhombohedral. The better electric properties for PNZST ceramic with 0.6 wt% Fe content were obtained, i.e. piezoelectric constant d33=380 pC/N, electromechanical coupling factor kp=0.57, mechanical quality factor Qm=225, dielectric constant εr=1190, loss tangent tan δ=0.007 and curie temperature Tc=318 °C.