Enhanced energy storage properties of Ba0.4Sr0.6TiO3 lead-free ceramics with Bi2O3-B2O3-SiO2 glass addition

In this study, we present an effective strategy to enhance the energy storage properties of Ba_0.4Sr_0.6TiO₃ (BST) lead-free ceramics by the addition of Bi₂O₃-B₂O₃-SiO₂ (BBS) glass, which were prepared by the conventional solid state sintering method. The phase structure, microstructure and energy storage properties were investigated in detail. It can be found that the Ba_0.4Sr_0.6TiO₃-x wt%(Bi₂O₃-B₂O₃-SiO₂) (BST- x wt%BBS, 0 ≤ x ≤ 12) ceramics possess large maximum polarization (P_max), low remanent polarization (P_r) and slim polarization electric field (P-E) hysteresis loops. The breakdown strength (BDS), recoverable energy storage density (W_rec) and energy storage efficiency (η) are enhanced obviously with the addition of BBS glass. The BST-9 wt%BBS ceramic is found to exhibit excellent energy storage properties with a W_rec of 1.98 J/cm³ and a η of 90.57% at 279 kV/cm. These results indicate that the BST-x wt%BBS ceramics might be good candidates for high energy storage applications.