Phase transition and dielectric properties of lead free (K 0.5Na0.5)NbO3- Bi(Zn0.5Ti 0.5)O3 piezoelectric ceramics

Lead-free piezoelectric ceramics of (1-x)(K0.5Na0.5) NbO3 - x(Bi(Zn0.5Ti0.5)O3; x = 0.00-0.30 were prepared via the two-stage mixed oxide fabrication technique. The crystal structure and ferroelectric phase transitions were studied by means of x-ray diffraction and thermal measurements. XRD results showed that a single-phase perovskite structurewas formed in the ceramics with x ≤ 0.25. For the ceramics with x = 0.30, a small amount of secondary phase Bi2Ti2O7 with a cubic structure was formed. The ceramics with a perovskite structure showed an orthorhombic phase at 0.00 ≤ x ≤ 0.010 and became rhombohedral at 0.010 < x ≤ 0.015 before transforming to a cubic phase at 0.015 < x ≤ 0.25. In addition, DSC results showed that the phase transition temperature of orthorhombic-tetragonal (TO-T) and tetragonal-cubic (TC) decreased when a small amount of BZT was added. The trend of enthalpy for orthorhombic → tetragonal phase transition and tetragonal → cubic phase were found to reduce with progressive increases in small amounts of BZT content. This behavior could originate from the more complex occupation of the A and B sites in an ABO3 perovskite structure. Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.