Reduced dielectric loss and high piezoelectric constant in Ce and Mn co-doped BiScO3-PbCexTi1-xO3-Bi(Zn0.5Ti0.5)O3 ceramics

MnO2-doped 0.99(0.36BiScO3-0.64PbTi1-xCexO3)-0.01Bi(Zn0.5Ti0.5)O3 (BS-PTC-BZT-MnO2) ceramics are fabricated by the solid-state method. Here, it's firstly reported that Ce element can reduce dielectric loss (tan δ) and suppress the decrease of piezoelectric constant (d33) simultaneously. Effects of Ce contents on the structure and electrical properties of BS-PTC-BZT-MnO2 ceramics are studied. The ceramics (x = 0.02) with MPB (rhombohedral-tetragonal) possess low dielectric loss (tan δ = 1.36%, 1 kHz) and high piezoelectric constant (d33 = 360 pC/N) simultaneously, which is superior to most reported BS-PT. Besides, excellent comprehensive properties including high Curie temperature (TC = 422 °C), large dielectric constant (ɛr = 1324), and high remnant polarization (Pr = 35.1 µC/cm2) are obtained. Asymmetric S-E and P-E hysteresis loops indicate that defects and oxygen vacancies are induced by multi-valence elements (Ce and Mn), which is the origin for reducing tan δ. In addition, good thermal stability of piezoelectric and dielectric properties is observed. These results indicate that Ce and Mn co-doped BS-PTC-BZT-MnO2 ceramics can be well applied as power electronic devices under high temperature.