Phase,domain, and microstructures in Sr2+ substituted low-temperature sintering PZT-based relaxor ferroelectrics

The Ag-Pd internal electrode of multilayer piezoelectric ceramics needs to be sintered below 1000°C, and lead wires and components need to be welded with lead-free solder at 260°C. PNN–PMW–PZT–xSr piezoelectric ceramics with high Curie temperature (T_c > 260°C) were synthesized at a low sintering temperature (960°C) to meet the requirements of multilayer piezoelectric devices. The relationship between structures (phase, domain, and microstructures) and electrical properties (piezo/ferroelectric properties, and dielectric relaxation) in the Sr²⁺ substituted ceramics was investigated. Rietveld refinement and Raman spectra show that Sr²⁺ substitution can cause the phase change and increase the force constant of [BO₆] octahedron. The piezoelectric response increases with increasing the content of the tetragonal phase (CTP) in the rhombohedral-tetragonal (R-T) coexisted ceramics. The ceramics with 0.6 mol% Sr²⁺ substitution have minimum activation energy for domain wall movement (E_a) of 0.0362 eV which favors the formation of nanometer-sized domains, and possess excellent electrical properties (d₃₃ = 623 pC/N, d₃₃^* =783 pm/V, T_c =295°C). The higher the CTP, the lower the E_a. The lower E_a favors the rotation of polarization direction and extension, and is beneficial to the generation of the nanometer-size domains, resulting in high piezoelectric properties.     

Statistical Piezotronic Effect in Nanocrystal Bulk by Anisotropic Geometry Control

Utilizing inner-crystal piezoelectric polarization charges to control carrier transport across a metal-semiconductor or semiconductor–semiconductor interface, piezotronic effect has great potential applications in smart micro/nano-electromechanical system (MEMS/NEMS), human-machine interfacing, and nanorobotics. However, current research on piezotronics has mainly focused on systems with only one or rather limited interfaces. Here, the statistical piezotronic effect is reported in ZnO bulk composited of nanoplatelets, of which the strain/stress-induced piezo-potential at the crystals’ interfaces can effectively gate the electrical transport of ZnO bulk. It is a statistical phenomenon of piezotronic modification of large numbers of interfaces, and the crystal orientation of inner ZnO nanoplatelets strongly influence the transport property of ZnO bulk. With optimum preferred orientation of ZnO nanoplatelets, the bulk exhibits an increased conductivity with decreasing stress at a high pressure range of 200–400 MPa, which has not been observed previously in bulk. A maximum sensitivity of 1.149 µS m⁻¹ MPa⁻¹ and a corresponding gauge factor of 467–589 have been achieved. As a statistical phenomenon of many piezotronic interfaces modulation, the proposed statistical piezotronic effect extends the connotation of piezotronics and promotes its practical applications in intelligent sensing.     

Surface structure and quenching effects in BiFeO3-BaTiO3 ceramics

The structure and properties of Mn-doped 0.67BiFeO₃-0.33BaTiO₃ ceramics are systematically investigated with respect to the effects of annealing prior to rapid cooling by quenching in air. Air-quenching induces a change in crystal structure from pseudo-cubic to rhombohedral, with higher quenching temperatures leading to an increased rhombohedral distortion. These structural changes are correlated with the appearance of more well-defined ferroelectric domain configurations. It is shown that the surface preparation procedures for XRD measurements can induce significant changes in the peak profiles, indicating differences in crystal structure between the surface and bulk regions. Frequency dispersion in the temperature-dependent relative permittivity for the as-sintered sample is significantly reduced after quenching, accompanied by enhancement of the Curie point and improved temperature-stability of piezoelectric properties. It is proposed that the formation of defect clusters by A-site cation diffusion during cooling is circumvented by quenching, leading to the observed modification of structural distortion and ferroelectric properties.     

Anisotropic effects of oxygen vacancy defects on the electrical properties of highly oriented bismuth titanate ferroelectric ceramics

Bismuth titanate (Bi₄Ti₃O₁₂, BIT) exhibits a high Curie temperature and anisotropic electrical performance owing to its layered perovskite structure, and hence, it is an important ferroelectric material for high-temperature piezoelectric applications. It is crucial to understand the effects of the anisotropy in BIT-based ferroelectrics for developing novel high-temperature piezoelectric materials. In this study, a highly textured BIT ceramic was fabricated using the tape-casting technique from highly grain-oriented BIT platelets prepared by the molten salt method. The textured BIT ceramic showed a dense microstructure and high grain orientation along the (00l) plane with a texturing degree F_00l = 0.86. It exhibited significant anisotropy in the electrical properties along the directions parallel and perpendicular to the axis of the tape-casting plane. Double ferroelectric hysteresis P–E loops and normal ferroelectric P–E loops were observed in the parallel and perpendicular samples, respectively. In addition to the layered crystal structure and domains, the anisotropy in the arrangement of the oxygen vacancy defects and their transport in the structure led to a significant anisotropy in the ferroelectric properties of the textured BIT ceramics. This work demonstrates the anisotropic arrangement of the oxygen vacancy defects and its effect on the electrical properties of high-temperature bismuth layer-structured ferroelectrics.     

混凝土结构的压电声波检测分析

本文介绍了混凝土结构的压电体波和表面波检测的主要进展,对两种压电声波检测的优缺点进行了总结。体波检测设备一般埋入混凝土内部,需要选择合理的检测部位,检测结果较为精确;声表面波检测无需选择特定的部位,但是检测深度有限。在实际检测工作过程中,可以联合两种方法相互验证。     

Modified sepiolite/PVDF-HFP composite film with enhanced piezoelectric and dielectric properties

Flexible film with both piezoelectric and dielectric properties is considered to be a potential candidate for the energy conversion and storage devices. In this study, the Li⁺ and H₂O modified sepiolite/poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) (LiSEP-H₂O/PVDF-HFP) composite films with both good piezoelectric and dielectric properties were prepared by traditional coating process. When the H₂O content was 13 wt %, the LiSEP-H₂O/PVDF-HFP composite exhibited high d₃₃ of 32 and dielectric constant of 48. Moreover, the effects of the Li⁺ and adsorbed H₂O on the d₃₃, F(β), dielectric constant, short-circuit currents were discussed. The adsorbed H₂O enhanced the β-phase by the hydrogen bonds and Li⁺ improved the polarization to realize the composite film with increased piezoelectric and dielectric properties respectively. We expected the common modification to lead other clay minerals realizing the future applications in the adjustment of composites' electric properties. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2020 , 137, 48412.     

Enhanced piezoelectric strain of BiFeO3–Ba(Zr0.02Ti0.98)O3 lead-free ceramics near the phase boundary

The xBiFeO₃-(1-x)Ba(Zr_0.02Ti_0.98)O₃ + 1.0 mol% MnO₂ (xBF-BZT) lead-free piezoelectric ceramics were prepared by conventional solid-state reaction method. The structure, dielectric, and piezoelectric properties were studied. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis showed that xBF-BZT ceramics exhibited pure perovskite structure with the coexistence of tetragonal and rhombohedral phases (0.66 ≤ x ≤ 0.74). The Curie temperature T_c, the dielectric constant ε_r (1 kHz), dielectric loss tanδ (1 kHz), piezoelectric constant d₃₃, coercive field E_c (80 kV/cm), and remnant polarization P_r (80 kV/cm) of 0.7BF-0.3BZT-Mn ceramics were 491°C, 633, 0.044, 165 pC/N, 35.6 kV/cm, and 22.6 μC/cm², respectively. The unipolar strain of 0.7BF-0.3BZT reached up to 0.20% under the electric field of 60 kV/cm, which is larger than that (0.15%) of BiFeO₃–BaTiO₃ ceramics. These results indicated that the xBF-BZT ceramics were promising candidates for high-temperature piezoelectric materials.     

三稳态压电能量采集器的动态特性与实验

为了探究三稳态压电振动能量采集器的动力学特性,以磁-机-压电耦合型三稳态压电振动能量采集器(tristable piezoelectric vibration energy harvester,简称TPVEH)为研究对象,利用磁荷法、力平衡和基尔霍夫定律分别建立了采集器末端磁铁与外部磁铁之间的非线性磁力模型和系统集总参数动力学模型。仿真分析了磁铁间距、激励加速度幅值和频率等参数对采集器动力学特性和采集电压的影响。研制了三稳态压电振动能量采集器原理样机,搭建了实验测试平台,实验验证了仿真结果的正确性。研究结果表明,随着激励加速度幅值增大,能量采集器依次经历单稳态、双稳态和三稳态3种运动状态,且三稳态运动时的工作频带和输出性能(位移、速度和采集电压)比双稳态和单稳态时要高。     

预压力对压电驱动履带移动系统的性能影响

为了提高夹心式压电驱动移动系统的机械输出性能，提出了一种U型预压力调节机构，并开展了预压力对夹心式压电驱动履带移动系统输出性能影响关系的实验研究。首先，针对U型预压力调节机构的安装对夹心式压电振子的振动特性影响关系开展了有限元仿真分析，发现U型预压力调节机构始终处在夹心式压电振子的两相工作模态振动节点位置；其次，开展了夹心式压电驱动履带移动系统的原理样机的预压力调节测试实验，确定了系统的最大输出牵引力及其所对应的最佳预压力；最后，在最佳预压力工作状态下，开展了原理样机的牵引力特性、越障性能以及模拟月壤环境下的运动特性实验。研究结果表明，在最佳预压力工作状态下，夹心式压电驱动履带移动系统的机械输出性能最佳，为其进一步在月面巡视器上的应用提供了技术支持和试验基础。     

Electrical and mechanical properties of BZT − xBCT lead-free piezoceramics

In this study, lead-free (1 − x)Ba(Zr_0.2Ti_0.8)O₃ − x(Ba_0.7Ca_0.3)TiO₃ compositions are synthesized via conventional solid oxide route, and the ceramics are fabricated with normal sintering in air. The effects of composition fluctuations on dielectric, piezoelectric, and mechanical properties are investigated. The phase structure and the microstructure are analyzed with X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. The best dielectric and piezoelectric properties of ε_r = 11 207 and d₃₃ = 330 pC/N were obtained for BZT−0.35BCT and BZT−0.5BCT ceramics, respectively. The mechanical behavior—in terms of Vickers hardness and compressive and flexural strengths—was investigated, and the best mechanical behavior was found in the vicinity of the phase transition boundary with x values between 0.5 and 0.6.