Ultrahigh electric breakdown strength,excellent dielectric energy storage density,and improved electrocaloric effect in Pb-free (1-x)Ba(Zr0.15Ti0.85)O3-xNaNbO3 ceramics

In this study, NaNbO₃ (NN) was introduced into Ba(Zr_0.15Ti_0.85)O₃ (BZT) to form a solid solution with relaxor ferroelectric characteristics. The dielectric breakdown strength (BDS) of the specimen with 6 mol.% NN reached 680 kV/cm, the corresponding recoverable energy storage density (W_rec) was 5.15 J/cm³, and the energy storage efficiency (η) was 77%. The dissolution of Na ⁺ ions at the A position and Nb⁵⁺ ions at the B position of the perovskite structure reduced the concentration of oxygen vacancies in the lattice and compensated for defects. The doped ceramics exhibited lower dielectric loss and better thermal stability: the W_rec value was 2 ± 1% J/cm³ at 30–120 °C. In particular, in the 0.02NN ceramics, a ΔT of 1.81 K was achieved at 130 kV/cm, and the operating temperature zone expanded with the increase in doping concentration. The introduction of NN resulted in BZT ceramics that possess excellent energy storage performance and electrocaloric effect properties.     

Ultrahigh energy storage density in Ba0.85Ca0.15Zr0.1Ti0.9O3-based lead-free ceramics by introducing a relaxor end-member

Dielectric ceramics with relaxor characteristics are promising candidates to meet the demand for capacitors in next-generation pulse devices. In this work, Ba_0.85Ca_0.15Zr_0.1Ti_0.9O₃ (BCZT)-based lead-free ceramics with an ultrahigh recoverable energy storage density (W_rec) were designed and fabricated by introducing the relaxor end-member of Bi(Zn_2/3Ta_1/3)O₃ (BZT). The addition of BZT disrupted the ferroelectric (FE) long-range order and triggered an FE-to-relaxor FE (RFE) phase, leading to the formation of locally polar nano-regions (PNRs) and significantly inhibiting grain growth. Meanwhile, the presence of PNRs with good thermal stability improved the temperature stability of both the dielectric constant (ε') and W_rec. More importantly, the breakdown electric field strength was significantly improved up to ∼640 kV/cm, resulting in an ultrahigh W_rec of ∼7.11 J/cm³ for the 8%BZT doped BCZT (BCZT-BZT8) ceramic. Furthermore, the BCZT-BZT8 ceramic exhibited excellent charge/discharge performances (C_D ∼ 458.4 A/cm², P_D ∼ 50.4 MW/cm³, W_D ∼ 1.354 J/cm³, t_0.9 ∼ 320 ns) with good thermal stability in the temperature range of 298–373 K. The defect chemistry of the BCZT-BZT8 was explored using electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy which revealed an EPR signal (g ∼ 1.955), associated with oxygen vacancies. The above findings indicate that the novel composition of BCZT-BZT8 has great prospects in energy storage capacitor applications.     

High-energy storage performance in lead-free (1-x)BaTiO3-xBi(Zn0.5Ti0.5)O3 relaxor ceramics for temperature stability applications

In this paper, we prepared lead-free (1-x)BaTiO₃-xBi(Zn_0.5Ti_0.5)O₃ (x=0.04, 0.08, 0.10, and 0.14) ceramics by a conventional solid-state reaction technique. Pure perovskite structures and dense microstructures were demonstrated for all the compositions. Interestingly, it was found that the sintering temperature tended to decrease with increasing the Bi(Zn_0.5Ti_0.5)O₃ content. It should be stressed that a low sintering temperature of 1050 °C was utilized for the composition of x=0.14. Moreover, the dielectric permittivity-temperature curve became more flat and the relaxor degree became stronger with the augment in Bi(Zn_0.5Ti_0.5)O₃ content. We also conducted a detailed study on the energy storage performance for all the compositions from 25 °C to 180 °C.We found that relatively temperature-stable energy storage performance could be obtained in the compositions with x=0.08, 0.10 and 0.14 regardless of the evolution of dielectric constant during the test temperature range. In particular, due to a higher field of 12 MV m⁻¹, the discharge energy storage densities of x=0.14 could reach 0.81 J cm⁻³, 0.80 J cm⁻³, 0.78 J cm⁻³, 0.72 J cm⁻³, and 0.67 J cm⁻³ with high efficiencies of 94%, 92%, 94%, 88% and 77% at 25 °C, 50 °C, 100 °C, 150 °C, and 180 °C, respectively. All these results demonstrate the (1-x)BaTiO₃-xBi(Zn_0.5Ti_0.5)O₃ ceramics are quite promising for temperature-stable energy storage applications.     

The effect of rare-earth oxides on the energy storage performances in BaTiO3 based ceramics

In this work, 0.7BaTiO₃-0.3Sr_0.2Bi_0.7TiO₃ (0.7BT-0.3SBT) ceramics with 0.15 mol% various rare-earth oxides doped are designed and synthesized by the conventional solid-state route. All prepared samples exhibited a single perovskite phase and dense microstructure with fine grain size (0.2–0.5 μm) after sintering at 1180 °C. Especially, the Gd-doped 0.7BT-0.3SBT ceramics exhibited excellent energy storage performances; the corresponding recoverable energy density and efficiency were 3.2 J/cm³ and 91.5% under an electric field of 330 kV/cm, respectively. Meanwhile, doping with Gd caused the BT-based ceramics to possess excellent temperature (30–150 °C) and outstanding frequency stabilities (10–1000 Hz). Moreover, the pulsed charge-discharge experiments revealed that a high power density of 59 MW/cm³ and a fast discharge speed of 110 ns with outstanding temperature stability could be synchronously obtained in the Gd-doped composition. All these features are attractive for pulsed power applications.     

Improved energy storage density and energy efficiency of Samarium modified PMNT electroceramic

We report the improved energy storage density and efficiency after 2.5% of Samarium substitution in ferroelectric Pb[(Mg_1/3Nb_2/3)_0.80Ti_0.20]O₃ (PMNT) electroceramic. The microstructure and surface morphology were analyzed and correlated with various functional properties. The energy storage density, leakage current density, ferroelectric and dielectric properties were investigated thoroughly, indicating that Samarium's substitution significantly modified the microstructure, the dielectric strength, breakdown electric field, and turned ferroelectric PMNT to relaxor ferroelectrics. Due to the relaxor nature, the gap between remanent polarization and maximum polarization increases with the substitution of Samarium in PMNT matrix, which further increases the recoverable energy storage density and energy efficiency. A nearly 100% increase in recoverable energy density and efficiency was obtained at an electric field strength of 35 kV/cm at room temperature (～296 K). The electroceramic shows maximum energy density near the ferroelectric phase transition temperature (325 K–345 K) region and provides a moderate energy storage density for possible applications in power microelectronics.     

High recoverable energy storage density in nominal (0.67-x)BiFeO3-0.33BaTiO3-xBaBi2Nb2O9 lead-free composite ceramics

A series of novel lead-free energy storage ceramics, (0.67-x)BiFeO₃-0.33BaTiO₃-xBaBi₂Nb₂O₉ (BF-BT-xBBN), were fabricated by traditional solid-state reaction, where bismuth layer-structured BaBiNb₂O₉ was incorporated into perovskite-structured BiFeO₃–BaTiO₃ ceramic as an additive. The addition of BaBi₂Nb₂O₉ increased the relaxor behavior and breakdown strength of BF-BT ceramics due to the formation of polar nanoregionals (PNRs), inducing enhanced energy storage performance. The composite ceramics, with x = 0.08, showed a large recoverable energy density (W_rec) of 3.08 J/cm³ and an outstanding energy storage efficiency (η) of 85.57% under an applied electric field of 230 kV/cm. Moreover, the composite ceramics exhibited excellent thermal stability and high stability toward different frequencies in a temperature range of 20–100 °C and a frequency range of 0.1–1500 Hz. These results demonstrate great potential of novel BF-BT-xBBN composite ceramics for next-generation energy storage applications.     

Enhanced energy storage in temperature stable Bi0.5Na0.5TiO3-modified BaTiO3-Bi(Zn2/3Nb1/3)O3 ceramics

Recently, BaTiO₃-BiMeO₃ ceramics have garnered focused research attention due to their outstanding performance, such as thermal stability, energy efficiency and rapid charge-discharge behavior, however, a lower recoverable energy storage density (W_rec) caused by a relatively low P_max (<30 μC/cm²) mainly hinders practical applications. Herein, the energy density and thermal stability are improved by adding a tertiary component, i.e., Bi_0.5Na_0.5TiO₃, into BaTiO₃-BiMeO₃, resulting in xBi_0.5Na_0.5TiO₃-modified 0.88BaTiO₃-0.12Bi(Zn_2/3Nb_1/3)O₃ ceramics, with x = 0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3 and 0.4, with superior dielectric properties and eco-friendly impact. Incorporating Bi_0.5Na_0.5TiO₃ with a high saturation polarization and Curie temperature not only significantly enhances P_max of BaTiO₃-Bi(Zn_2/3Nb_1/3)O₃ but also improves Curie temperature of (1-x)[0.88BaTiO₃-0.12Bi(Zn_2/3Nb_1/3)O₃]-xBi_0.5Na_0.5TiO₃ system. Combined with complementary advantages, modified ceramics render a superior energy storage performance (ESP) with a high W_rec of 3.82 J/cm³, efficiency η of 94.4% and prominent temperature tolerance of 25–200 °C at x = 0.3. Moreover, this ceramic exhibit excellent pulse performance, realizing discharge energy storage density W_dis of 2.31 J/cm³ and t_0.9 of 244 ns. Overall, the proposed strategy effectively improved comprehensive properties of BaTiO₃-based ceramics, showing promise in next-generation pulse applications.     

Structure,dielectric properties of novel Ba(Zr,Ti)O3 based ceramics for energy storage application

(1-x) Ba(Zr_0.2Ti_0.8)O₃-x Na_0.5Bi_0.5TiO₃ (x = 0, 10, 20 30, 40, 50 mol%) (BZTN) ceramics are prepared by the traditional solid phase method. All BZTN ceramics exhibit a pseudo-cubic BZT based perovskite structure. Both the average grain size and the relaxor ferroelectricity of BZTN ceramics gradually increase with increasing NBT content. The W_rec of 3.22 J/cm³ and η of 91.2% is obtained for the BZTN40 ceramic at 241 kV/cm. BZTN40 ceramic also exhibits good temperature stability from room temperature to 150 °C and frequency stability from 1 Hz to 100 Hz. A P_D of 0.621 J/cm³ and a t_0.9 of 82 ns is obtained for the BZTN40 ceramic at 120 kV/cm. BZTN ceramics show application potential in energy storage and pulse power capacitors.     

(1-x)Bi0.5Na0.47Li0.03TiO3-xNaNbO3 lead-free ceramics with superior energy storage performances and good temperature stability

Dielectric capacitors show great potential in superior energy storage devices. However, the energy density of these capacitors is still inadequate to meet the requirement of energy storage applications. In this study, the Bi_0.5Na_0.47Li_0.03TiO₃-xNaNbO₃ (BNLT-xNN) ceramics were prepared via conventional solid-phase reaction. Results showed that NN can efficaciously enhance the breakdown strength (E_b) and the relaxation behavior of the BNLT ceramic because of the broken ferroelectric long-range order. When x = 0.3, the maximum E_b reached 350 kV/cm, at which the 0.7BNLT-0.3NN ceramic exhibited the high recoverable energy storage density (W_rec) of 4.83 J/cm³ and great efficiency (η) of 78.9%. The ceramic demonstrated good temperature stability at 20 °C-160 °C and excellent fatigue resistance. Additionally, the 0.7BNLT-0.3NN ceramic presented high power density (P_D; ～77.58 MW/cm³), large current density (C_D; ～861.99 A/cm²), and quite short discharge time (t_0.9; ～0.090 μs). These results indicated that the 0.7BNLT-0.3NN material has excellent energy storage properties and various application prospects.     

Achieving high-energy storage performance in 0.67Bi1-xSmxFeO3-0.33BaTiO3 lead-free relaxor ferroelectric ceramics

BiFeO₃–BaTiO₃ (BF-BT)-based lead-free ferroelectric ceramic has attracted immense interest in energy storage applications due to its great spontaneous polarization (P_max) strength. However, high remanent polarization (P_r) has become a serious obstruction for its practical application. In this work, Sm ions were doped into 0.67BiFeO₃-0.33BaTiO₃ (0.67Bi_1-xSm_xFeO₃-0.33BaTiO₃, BS_xF-BT) to tailor the structure and energy storage properties. It was found that the doping of Sm ions effectively reduced P_r by enhancing the relaxor behavior of BF-BT ceramic, which produce an enhancement in the energy storage performance. Large recoverable energy storage density W_rec of 2.8 J/cm³ with moderate energy storage efficiency η of 55.8% (200 kV/cm) were achieved in the ceramics with x = 0.1. Moreover, the energy storage capabilities exhibited good stability at temperature (20–95 °C) and frequency (0.1–50 Hz). Furthermore, the ceramic also possessed a predominant discharge speed with a discharge time less than 0.1 μs in a circuit with a load of 200 Ω. These results showed that the W_rec and η of BF-BT ceramic could be availably promoted by the doping of Sm ions, which may be helpful for the enhancement of energy storage performance of BF-BT-based ceramics.     

Tailoring high energy density with superior stability under low electric field in novel (Bi0.5Na0.5)TiO3-based relaxor ferroelectric ceramics

Large energy storage density in relaxor ferroelectrics is commonly accompanied with high breakdown strength, which is adverse to the actual dielectric capacitor applications. We demonstrate that such drawback can be effectively resolved by using Sr_0.7Bi_0.2TiO₃ (SBT) to partially replace relaxor ferroelectric 0.76(Bi_0.5Na_0.5)TiO₃-0.24NaNbO₃ (BNT-NN-xSBT). In this study, a high recoverable energy storage density (W_rec∼3.12 J/cm³) and favorable efficiency (η∼75.3 %) are achieved in the BNT-NN-0.1SBT ceramic under a low electric field of 200 kV/cm, which is superior to that of most previously reported dielectric ceramics under the same electric field level. Good temperature stability (25−120 °C), moderate frequency dependence (1−500 Hz), and excellent fatigue resistance (up to 10⁵ cycles) are also realized. More interestingly, the indicated ceramics perform high power density (P_D∼36.40 MW/cm³) and fast discharge time (t_0.9∼0.149 μs) with remarkable temperature endurance. Moreover, of particular significance is that this study offers a feasible guideline to design comprehensive energy storage performance dielectric ceramics for practical applications.     

Improved energy storage properties of Sr(Zr0.8Nb0.16)O3-doped Bi0.47Na0.47Ba0.06TiO3 ceramics with excellent temperature/frequency stability

Lead-free perovskite dielectric materials for capacitors have received wide concern in recent years, but their energy storage density and efficiency still cannot meet the growing application demand for practical applications. In this work, we prepared a lead-free relaxor ferroelectric ceramic of (1-x)Bi_0.47Na_0.47Ba_0.06TiO₃-xSr(Zr_0.8Nb_0.16)O₃, which was synthesized via a normal solid-state route. The microstructure, dielectric properties and energy storage behavior of the ceramics were explored. The ceramics can be well sintered and situated in the region where rhombohedral and tetragonal phases coexist. The addition of Sr(Zr_0.8Nb_0.16)O₃ (SZN) significantly extends the dielectric-temperature plateau between T_s and T_m and reduces the remnant polarization P_r, but the large saturation polarization P_s is still maintained. Besides, the doping of SZN enhances the relaxation of the material and increases the dielectric breakdown strength (DBS) from 50 kV/cm (x = 0) to 100 kV/cm (x = 0.04 and 0.06). Therefore, the ceramic with x = 0.06 exhibits a high discharging efficiency (η) of 71.1% and energy density (W) of 1.56 J/cm³ at 100 kV/cm and shows the superior thermal stability with the changes in recoverable energy density (W_rec) and η of less than 10% and 30% at the temperature range of 25–180 °C and the excellent frequency stability with the variations of W_rec and η of less than 1.8% and 1% at the frequency range of 10 Hz–100 Hz.     

Ultrahigh breakdown strength and energy storage properties of xBiMg0.5Zr0.5O3-(1-x)BaZr0.25Ti0.75O3 thin films

The development of miniaturized and lightweight electronic equipment requires the improvement of the dielectric breakdown strength and energy storage performance of dielectric capacitors. Therefore, in this study, a method for obtaining an amorphous phase by reducing the annealing temperature of a material is proposed to considerably improve the electrical breakdown, and a high-polarized substance is introduced to compensate for the polarization of the material. Lead-free xBiMg_0.5Zr_0.5O₃-(1-x)BaZr_0.25Ti_0.75O₃ (abbreviated as xBMZ-(1-x)BZT, x = 0.01, 0.02, 0.03, 0.04, and 0.05) thin films were prepared on Pt/Ti/SiO₂/Si substrates by using the sol-gel spin-coating method. The microstructure with coexisting nanocrystalline and amorphous phases was successfully controlled by reducing the annealing temperature and employing a rapid annealing process. All the films with this microstructure exhibited extremely high breakdown strength, and the effectiveness of this method was verified. When x = 0.04, the ultra-high breakdown strength of 6640 kV/cm, high energy storage density of 81.6 J/cm³ and high energy storage efficiency of 87% were achieved. Moreover, the dielectric and energy storage performance were excellent under temperatures from 20 °C to 200 °C. This study presents a feasible approach for designing new high-performance dielectric capacitors for energy storage devices in the future.     

High energy storage properties of lead-free Mn-doped (1-x)AgNbO3-xBi0.5Na0.5TiO3 antiferroelectric ceramics

In this work, 0.2 wt.% Mn-doped (1-x)AgNbO₃-xBi_0.5Na_0.5TiO₃ (x = 0.00–0.04) ceramics were synthesized via solid state reaction method in flowing oxygen. The evolution of microstructure, phase transition and energy storage properties were investigated to evaluate the potential as high energy storage capacitors. Relaxor ferroelectric Bi_0.5Na_0.5TiO₃ was introduced to stabilize the antiferroelectric state through modulating the M₁-M₂ phase transition. Enhanced energy storage performance was achieved for the 3 mol% Bi_0.5Na_0.5TiO₃ doped AgNbO₃ ceramic with high recoverable energy density of 3.4 J/cm³ and energy efficiency of 62% under an applied field of 220 kV/cm. The improved energy storage performance can be attributed to the stabilized antiferroelectricity and decreased electrical hysteresis ΔE. In addition, the ceramics also displayed excellent thermal stability with low energy density variation (<6%) over a wide temperature range of 20−80 °C. These results indicate that Mn-doped (1-x)AgNbO₃-xBi_0.5Na_0.5TiO₃ ceramics are highly efficient lead-free antiferroelectric materials for potential application in high energy storage capacitors.     

Relaxor antiferroelectric ceramics with ultrahigh efficiency for energy storage applications

Enhancing the efficiency in energy storage capacitors minimizes energy dissipation and improves device durability. A new efficiency-enhancement strategy for antiferroelectric ceramics, imposing relaxor characteristics through forming solid solutions with relaxor compounds, is demonstrated in the present work. Using the classic antiferroelectric (Pb_0.97La_0.02)(Zr_1-x-_ySn_xTi_y)O₃ as model base compositions, Bi(Zn_2/3Nb_1/3)O₃ is found to be most effective in producing the “relaxor antiferroelectric” behavior and minimizing the electric hysteresis. Specifically, a remarkable energy storage efficiency of 95.6% (with an energy density of 2.19 J/cm³ at 115 kV/cm) is achieved in the solid solution 0.90(Pb_0.97La_0.02)(Zr_0.65Sn_0.30Ti_0.05)O₃–0.10Bi(Zn_2/3Nb_1/3)O₃. The validated new strategy, hence, can guide the design of future relaxor antiferroelectric dielectrics for next generation energy storage capacitors.     

High energy storage density and temperature-stable dielectric properties for (1-x)Bi0.38Na0.38Sr0.24TiO3-xBaSnO3 lead-free relaxor ceramics

Relaxor ferroelectrics are promising candidates for energy storage equipment due to their excellent energy-storage properties. Lead-free (1-x)Bi_0.38Na_0.38Sr_0.24TiO₃-xBaSnO₃ (abbreviated as BNST-100xBS) relaxor ceramics were synthesized by a traditional solid-phase sintering method. The influences of the addition of BaSnO₃ dopants for the energy storage and dielectric temperature-stable properties of BNST-100xBS ceramics were systemically investigated. All samples exhibited a typical pseudo-cubic symmetry structure and obtained the dense microstructure. The ergodic relaxor behavior of all ceramics was observed and revealed a trend of increase as a function of composition. All samples showed a single grain conduction mechanism and the activation energy decreased with the addition of composition. It is related to the generation of oxygen vacancies induced by the defect dipoles. BNST-2.5BS ceramic exhibited an outstanding recoverable energy density of ~1.42 J/cm³ with the corresponding efficiency of ~79.7% at 115 kV/cm field. In addition, excellent temperature-stable permittivity (43–255 °C) was obtained for BNST-7.5BS ceramic. Hence, BNST-2.5BS ceramic revealed excellent energy density properties and BNST-7.5BS exhibited outstanding temperature-stable dielectric permittivity, which was beneficial to use in energy storage equipment and other device applications.     

Relaxor regulation and improvement of breakdown strength for Bi0.5Na0.5TiO3-based ceramics by co-doping with Ca and Nb

In this paper, the dense perovskite structure ceramics (Na_0.3Bi_0.3Ba_0.04Sr_0.36)_1-xCa_xTi_1-xNb_xO₃ were investigated. The long-range order structure was destructed by structural distortion, and the relaxor behavior was enhanced after the co-doping with Ca and Nb. Meanwhile, the restraint of oxygen vacancy resulted in low leakage current density and small grain size with the increase of breakdown strength ranging from 210 to 280 kV/cm. The high recoverable energy density (W_rec = 2.94 J/cm³) with high efficiency (η = 91.04%) was obtained at x = 0.03, along with fast discharge speed (t_0.9–180 ns), high power density (P_D = 56.15 MW/cm³), superior cycle stability and thermal stability. The properties guaranteed a promising and practical prospect in pulsed power systems.     

Ultrahigh energy storage density and charge-discharge performance in novel sodium bismuth titanate-based ceramics

Lead-free ferroelectric ceramics are very suitable for electrostatic energy storage capacitors due to their outstanding characteristics of high charge-discharge speed, high power density, and environmental friendliness. Herein, a novel material system as (1−x)Na_0.5Bi_0.5TiO₃-xCaZr_0.5Ti_0.5O₃ (NBT-CZT, x = 0, 0.05, 0.10, 0.12, 0.15, and 0.20) was designed and prepared for dielectric energy storage ceramics. It demonstrated that the CZT additives induced a phase transition for the NBT ceramics, from ferroelectric to relaxor ferroelectric. In particular, extremely high stored energy storage density (6.92 and 5.37 J/cm³), high recoverable energy storage density (4.77 and 4.37 J/cm³), and moderate efficiency (69.0% and 81.4%) were achieved in both the samples of x = 0.12 and x = 0.15, respectively. The ceramics exhibited excellent stability of energy storage performance covering a wide temperature (25°C–200°C) and frequency (0.5–50 Hz) range, and also fatigue cycles up to 10⁵. Additionally, the NBT-CZT ceramics had a fast discharge speed (t_0.9 < 100 ns) and high power density (24.2 MW/cm³, E = 100 kV/cm, x = 0.15), and the charge-discharge process remained stable even when the measured temperature was up to 160°C. Therefore, the NBT-CZT ceramics have the potential to be utilized in electrostatic energy storage applications.     

Enhanced energy storage performance of eco-friendly BNT-based relaxor ferroelectric ceramics via polarization mismatch-reestablishment and viscous polymer process

In this work, we synthesized a novel and eco-friendly relaxor ferroelectric system, i.e., (1?x)(0.8Bi_0.5Na_0.4K_0.1TiO₃-0.2SrTiO₃)-xNaNbO₃ (BS-xNN) ceramics with x = 0.1–0.4 based on a solid state reaction technique. The structural, microstructural, dielectric as well as ferroelectric characteristics of BS-xNN ceramics were comprehensively examined. According to our findings, the Ti–O coupling reduces as the NN content increases, while the Nb–O coupling strengthens, leading in a nano-scale polarization mismatch-reestablishment process that enhances energy storage performance. Because of the reduction in thickness and porosity, the viscous polymer process significantly increases the breakdown strength of ceramic samples. More crucially, at 260 kV/cm, 0.6BS-0.4NN ceramics have an ultrahigh recoverable energy storage density W_rec of 4.44 J/cm³ and a high energy storage efficiency η of 81.8%. Furthermore, thermal stability of energy storage performance is also identified across a wide temperature range of 30 °C from 140 °C at 215 kV/cm. The higher performance of energy storage not only indicates the feasibility of our technique, but also serves as a model for the manufacturing of high-quality dielectric ceramics with a wide range of industrial applications.     

Ultrahigh energy storage density and efficiency in PLZST antiferroelectric ceramics via multiple optimization strategy

Antiferroelectric (AFE) ceramic materials possess ultrahigh energy storage density due to their unique double hysteresis characteristics, and PbZrO₃ is one of the promising systems, but previous materials still suffer from the problem that energy storage density and energy storage efficiency can hardly be improved synergistically. In this work, a multiple optimization strategy is proposed to substantially improve the energy storage efficiency while maintaining the high energy storage density of PZ-based AFE ceramics. Sr²⁺-doped (Pb_0.90La_0.02Sr_0.08)[(Zr_0.5Sn_0.5)_0.9Ti_0.1]_0.995O₃ ceramics was successfully synthesized by viscous polymer process and two-step sintering. The diffuse phase transition constructed in this ceramic depleted the threshold electric field hysteresis and current while the breakdown field strength was increased again. An ultrahigh recoverable energy density (W_rec) of 7.9 J/cm³ with a high energy storage efficiency (η) of 96.4 % are achieved synchronously at an electric field of 510 kV/cm. Moreover, the AFE ceramics possess remarkable discharge energy storage properties with a high discharge energy density (W_d) of 7.4 J/cm³ and a large power density (P_d) of 224 MW/cm³.