Improved magneto-electric response in Na0.5Bi0.5TiO3–MnFe2O4 composites

Magneto-electric composites comprising Na_0.5Bi_0.5TiO₃ (NBT) and MnFe₂O₄ (MFO) were fabricated using their fine powders obtained via sol–gel method. X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy results confirmed the single-phase formation of NBT and MFO and the composite nature when these were mixed and sintered at appropriate temperatures. The dielectric constant (ε_r) and dielectric loss (D) decreased with increase in frequency (40–110 MHz). Room temperature magnetization measurements established these composites to be soft magnetic. Further, the nature of these composites were established to be magneto-electric at 300 K. The highest ME response of 0.19 % was observed in 30NBT–70MFO composite. The ME coefficient (α) was 240 mV/cm Oe for the same composition. The present study demonstrated the effectiveness of NBT/MFO as a lead-free multiferroic composite and provides an alternative for environment-friendly ME device applications.     

Piezoelectric and dielectric properties of Bi0.5Na0.5TiO3–Bi0.5Li0.5TiO3 lead-free ceramics

(1 − x)Bi_0.5Na_0.5TiO₃–xBi_0.5Li_0.5TiO₃ lead-free ceramics have been prepared by a conventional solid-state reaction method, and their piezoelectric and dielectric properties have been studied. X-ray diffraction studies reveal that Li⁺ diffuses into the Bi_0.5Na_0.5TiO₃ lattices to form a solid solution with a pure perovskite structure. The addition of Bi_0.5Li_0.5TiO₃ effectively lowers the sintering temperature of the ceramics and greatly assists in the densification of the ceramics. The ceramic with x = 0.075 possesses the optimum piezoelectric properties: piezoelectric coefficient d ₃₃ = 121 pC/N and planar electromechanical coupling factor k _P = 18.3%. After the partial substitution of Li⁺ for Na⁺ in the A-sites of Bi_0.5Na_0.5TiO₃, the ceramics exhibit more relaxor characteristic, which is probably resulted from the cation disordering in the 12-fold coordination sites. The depolarization temperature T _d shifts to low temperature with the substitution level x of Li⁺ for Na⁺ increasing.     

Crystallographic textured evolution in 0.85Na0.5Bi0.5TiO3–0.04BaTiO3–0.11K0.5Bi0.5TiO3 ceramics prepared by reactive-templated grain growth method

0.85Na_0.5Bi_0.5TiO₃–0.04BaTiO₃–0.11K_0.5Bi_0.5TiO₃ (BNBK) lead-free piezoelectric ceramics with extensive [001]_pc (pc: pseudo cubic) texture were fabricated by the reactive-templated grain growth method using anisotropic Bi₄Ti₃O₁₂ (BIT) particles as templates. The degree of grain orientation increased with increasing heat treatment temperature (600–1,200 °C). The obtained textured ceramics showed dense and brick-wall like microstructure, giving a Lotgering factor of 0.6. A physical understanding of interaction between BIT templates and matrix powders and the mechanism of texture evolution were proposed and confirmed by experimental evidences of X-ray diffraction patterns, scanning electron microscope images and density measurements. The piezoelectric response was enhanced by the grain orientation, and the piezoelectric constant (d₃₃) of the textured ceramics sintered at 1,170 °C attained a value of 254 pC/N, which was 41 % higher than random ceramics (180 pC/N).     

Structure and electrical properties of the Ho2O3 doped 0.82Bi0.5Na0.5TiO3–0.18Bi0.5K0.5TiO3 lead-free piezoelectric ceramics

Ho₂O₃ (0–0.7?wt%)-doped 0.82Bi_0.5Na_0.5TiO₃–0.18Bi_0.5K_0.5TiO₃ (BNKT18) lead-free piezoelectric ceramics were synthesized by a conventional solid-state reaction method. The effects of Ho₂O₃ on the microstructure and electrical properties were investigated. X-ray diffraction data shows that Ho₂O₃ in an amount of 0.1–0.7?wt% can diffuse into the lattice of the BNKT18 ceramics and form the pure perovskite phase. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) images indicate that the grain sizes of BNKT18 ceramics decrease with the increase of Ho₂O₃ content; in addition, the modified ceramics have the clear grain boundary and a uniformly distributed grain size. At room temperature, the electrical properties of the BNKT18 ceramics have been improved with the addition of Ho₂O₃, and the BNKT18 ceramics doped with 0.3wt.% Ho₂O₃ have the highest piezoelectric constant (d ₃₃?=?137?pC/N), the highest remnant polarization (P _r?=?26.9?μC/cm²), the higher relative dielectric constant (ε _r?=?980) and lower dissipation factor (tanδ?=?0.046) at a frequency of 10?kHz. The BNKT18 ceramics doped with 0.1?wt% Ho₂O₃ have the highest planar coupling factor (k _p?=?0.2426).     

Enhanced electric field tunable magnetic properties of lead-free Na0.5Bi0.5TiO3–MnFe2O4 multiferroic composites

Strong magnetoelectric (ME) interaction was exhibited at both dc and microwave frequencies in a lead-free multiferroic particulate composites of Na_0.5Bi_0.5TiO₃ (NBT) and MnFe₂O₄ (MFO) multiferroic, which were prepared by sol–gel route. The room temperature permeability measurements were carried out in the frequency range of 1 MHz–1 GHz. A systematic study of structural, magnetic and ME properties were undertaken. The room temperature ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) was studied. Strong ME coupling is demonstrated in 70NBT–30MFO composite by an electrostatically tunable FMR field shift up to 428 Oe (at E = 4 kV/cm), which increases to a large value of 640 Oe at E = 8 kV/cm. Furthermore, these lead-free multiferroic composites exhibiting electrostatically induced magnetic resonance field at microwave frequencies provide great opportunities for electric field tunable microwave devices.     

Origin of the large strain response in tenary SrTi0.8Zr0.2O3 modified Bi0.5Na0.5TiO3–Bi0.5K0.5TiO3 lead-free piezoceramics

The perovskite oxides (1 ? x)Bi_0.5(Na_0.9K_0.1)_0.5TiO₃–xSrTi_0.8Zr_0.2O₃ (SZT1000x, x = 0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8, and 1 %) were prepared via the conventional solid-state reaction method. The room temperature ferroelectric P–E loops coordinate with polarization current density J–E curves illustrated the changes of ferroelectric domains and polar nanoregions under different driving fields exhaustively. The composition and electric field dependent strain behavior of this system were investigated to develop a lead-free piezoelectric material with a large strain response at a lower electric field. A large strain of 0.44 % (S _max/E _max = 744 pm/V) at an applied field of 50 kV/cm was obtained at the composition of 0.6 mol% SZT. Temperature-dependent hysteresis measurements reveal the primary origin of the large strain is due to the presence of a nonpolar phase at a zero field. Upon the application of an electric field, the nonpolar phase that can easily transform into a long-range ferroelectric phase, and then brings the system back to its unpoled state once the applied electric field is removed. Notably, the electric field required to deliver large strains is reduced to 40 kV/cm while the S _max/E _max reached up to 717 pm/V, indicating that the developed material is highly promising for actuator applications.     

Significant effects of powder preparation processes on the physical properties of Bi0.5Na0.5TiO3–0.06BaTiO3 ceramic

(1?x)Bi_0.5Na_0.5TiO₃s (solid-state method)–xBi_0.5Na_0.5TiO₃g (sol–gel method)–0.06BaTiO₃ (0 ≤ x ≤ 1) ceramics were prepared and the effect of powder synthesis conditions on the physical properties of ceramics was investigated. A morphotropic phase boundary was observed in the Bi_0.5Na_0.5TiO₃–0.06BaTiO₃ system. With increasing Bi_0.5Na_0.5TiO_3g content, the maximum value of dielectric constant reduces sharply. The Bi_0.5Na_0.5TiO₃g significantly disrupts the long-range ferroelectric order dominant of the ceramics, which leads to a degradation of the remanent polarization and coercive field. These results may be helpful to further understand and design new Bi_0.5Na_0.5TiO₃-based lead-free piezoelectric ceramics.     

Na0.5 Bi0.5 TiO3-K0.5 Bi0.5 TiO3系铁电体的相变研究

研究了(Na1-xKx)0.5Bi0.5TiO3体系x分别为0、0.08、0.16和0.20时陶瓷不同频率下的介电温谱,发现材料为弛豫型铁电体,材料的介电谱在室温到500℃的温度范围内存在一个介电常数-温度"台阶",一个介电常数-温度峰和一个介电损耗-温度峰,通过分析陶瓷不同温度下的电滞回线验证陶瓷在升温过程中产生了铁电-反铁电-顺电相变,采用铁电体成分起伏理论和内电场理论解释了这类弛豫型铁电体相变的原因.     

Microstructure and energy-storage performance of BaO–B2O3–SiO2 glass added (Na0.5Bi0.5)TiO3 thick films

(Na_0.5Bi_0.5)TiO₃ lead-free thick films were successfully fabricated on alumina substrates via a screen printing method with 0–10 wt% BaO–B₂O₃–SiO₂ glass addition. Microstructure, dielectric properties and energy-storage performance of the thick films were systematically investigated. The results show that the denser thick films were obtained by addition of glass. Thus, the breakdown strength, the energy-storage density and efficiency were greatly improved. The maximum recoverable energy-storage density and efficiency of sample with 1 wt% glass were 2.0 J/cm³ and 44.1 %, respectively. Meanwhile, a low leakage current density of about 10^?6 A/cm² was obtained for all samples at 100 kV/cm.     

Structure and piezoelectric properties of K0.5Na0.5NbO3–Bi0.5Li0.5TiO3 lead-free ceramics

Lead-free (1−x) K_0.5Na_0.5NbO₃–xBi_0.5Li_0.5TiO₃ + 1 mol% MnO₂ piezoelectric ceramics have been prepared by a conventional ceramic technique and their structure and piezoelectric properties have been studied. Our results reveal that Bi_0.5Li_0.5TiO₃ diffuse into K_0.5Na_0.5NbO₃ lattices to form a solid solution with a perovskite structure. The addition of Bi_0.5Li_0.5TiO₃ to the K_0.5Na_0.5NbO₃ solid solution decreases the paraelectric cubic-ferroelectric tetragonal phase transition temperature (T _C) slightly, but shifts the ferroelectric tetragonal-ferroelectric orthorhombic phase transition temperature (T _O−T) significantly to low temperatures. As a result, coexistence of the orthorhombic and tetragonal phases is formed at 0.01 < x < 0.03 near room temperature, leading to a significant improvement in the piezoelectric properties of the ceramics. The ceramic with x = 0.025 exhibits a relatively high T _C (392 °C) and optimum piezoelectric properties: d ₃₃ = 191 pC/N, k _p = 51.5% and k _t = 45.5%. The ceramic also exhibit a good thermal stability of piezoelectric properties.     

Improved electrical and ferroelectric properties of multiferroic Na0.5Bi0.5TiO3/Bi1.07Nd0.03FeO3/Na0.5Bi0.5TiO3 sandwiched structure by a sol–gel process

A ferroelectric/multiferroic/ferroelectric sandwiched structure composed by Na_0.5Bi_0.5TiO₃ (NBT) and Bi_1.07Nd_0.03FeO₃ (BNF) with a LaNiO₃ buffer layer were prepared by a sol–gel method. X-ray diffraction indicated the NBT/BNF/NBT films exhibited a pure perovskite structure. The average grain size of BNF and NBT/BNF/NBT were found to be 40 and 80 nm, respectively. Interestingly, the electrical and ferroelectric properties such as leakage current, dielectric constant, and remnant polarization of NBT/BNF/NBT sandwiched layer, were superior to those of BNF single film. However, the saturation magnetization of NBT/BNF/NBT sandwiched layer was reduced. Our work suggested the NBT/BNF/NBT sandwiched layer with improved multiferroic characteristics have a promising application for future information storage devices.