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Property and Structure Optimization of Piezoelectric Materials

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A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Energy Materials".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (10 October 2023) | Viewed by 9020

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Sangwook Kim

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Guest Editor

Graduate School of Advanced Science Engineering, Hiroshima University, 1-3-1 Kagamiyama, Higashihiroshima, Hiroshima, Japan
Interests: ferroelectricity; piezoelectricy; lead-free piezoelectric ceramics and crystals; crystal structure analysis; synchrotron X-ray diffraction
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Ilkan Calisir

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Guest Editor Assistant

Department of Chemistry, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 7ZD, UK
Interests: lead-free piezoceramics

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Piezoelectric materials have been widely used in a variety of applications, for example, as actuators, pressure sensors, and ultrasonic transducers. They are one of the key energy materials which can be used to carry out the conversion of mechanical energy to electric energy. Within this research field, the performance of lead-free piezoelectric material is one of the central issues. To increase the performance, it is necessary to acquire more fundamental insights into the microscopic origin of properties and the optimization of material on process, properties, and structure. In the future, developments in the piezoelectric materials field can be expected to be driven by the optimization of their properties and structure. In particular, the multifunctional properties and high performance resulting from controlling microstructure may enable new functionalities. This Special Issue aims to expand upon our understanding of piezoelectric materials, with insights based on new processes, theories about their properties, optimization of properties and structure, etc.

For this Special Issue, we invite our colleagues to submit original papers and review articles with accounts of the latest research involving (but not limited to) the following topics:

Advanced electronic materials, including ferroelectric, piezoelectric, and dielectric materials.
Characterization of structure in materials.
Material design, new materials, and structure.
Physics, chemistry, material science for understanding properties.
Simulation and modeling for understanding structure-property relationships.

Prof. Dr. Sangwook Kim
Dr. Ilkan Calisir
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Materials is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

piezoelectrics
ferroelectrics
crystal structure
relaxor ferroelectrics
lead free
processing
characterization
modeling
piezoelectric energy harvesting and energy storage

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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16 pages, 11370 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Solid State Processing of BCZT Piezoceramics Using Ultra Low Synthesis and Sintering Temperatures

by Marzia Mureddu, José F. Bartolomé, Sonia Lopez-Esteban, Maria Dore, Stefano Enzo, Álvaro García, Sebastiano Garroni and Lorena Pardo

Materials 2023, 16(3), 945; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma16030945 - 19 Jan 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1732

Abstract

Lead-free (Ba_0.92Ca_0.08) (Ti_0.95 Zr_0.05) O₃ (BCZT) ceramics were prepared by a solid-state route (SSR) using ultra-low synthesis (700 °C/30 min and 700 °C/2 h) and sintering temperatures (from 1150 °C to 1280 °C), due to prior activation and homogenization by attrition milling of the starting high purity raw materials for 6 h before the synthesis and of the calcined powders for 3 h before the sintering. The comparison of the thermal analysis of the mixture of the starting raw materials and the same mixture after 6 h attrition milling allowed to evidence the mechanisms of activation, resulting in a significant decrease of the perovskite formation temperature (from 854 °C down to 582 °C). The secondary phases that limit the functional properties of the ceramic and their evolution with the sintering conditions were analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), which allowed the design of a two-step sintering method to eliminate them. A pure tetragonal BCZT perovskite phase (P4mm, c/a = 1.004) and homogeneous ceramic microstructure was obtained for synthesis at 700 °C for 2 h and sintering with the use of a two-step sintering treatment (900 °C for 3 h and 1280 °C for 6 h). The best electromechanical properties achieved were d₃₃ = 455 pC/N, k_p = 35%, Q_m = 155. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Property and Structure Optimization of Piezoelectric Materials)

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13 pages, 6233 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Research on Delayed Thermal Depolarization, Electric Properties, and Stress in (Bi_0.5Na_0.5)TiO₃-Based Ceramic Composites

by Xingru Zhang, Yinan Xiao, Chao Yang, Yuandong Wu, Min Wen, Junke Jiao, Rui Li, Liyuan Sheng and Wenchang Tan

Materials 2022, 15(9), 3180; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma15093180 - 28 Apr 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1702

Abstract

Depolarization behavior is one of the main shortcomings of (Bi_0.5Na_0.5)TiO₃-based ceramics. Considering the undesirable efficiency of traditional modification methods, in this paper a series of 0–3 type ceramic composites 0.85(Bi_0.5Na_0.5)TiO₃-0.11(Bi_0.5K_0.5)TiO₃-0.04BaTiO₃-x mol% ZnO (BNKT-BT-xZnO)) were synthesized by introducing ZnO nanoparticles. The results of the X-ray diffraction pattern (XRD) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) demonstrate that the majority of ZnO nanoparticles grow together to form enrichment regions, and the other Zn²⁺ ions diffuse into the matrix after sintering. With ZnO incorporated, the ferroelectric–ergodic relaxor transition temperature, T_F-R, and depolarization temperature, T_d, increase to above 120 °C and 110 °C, respectively. The research on temperature-dependent P–E loops verifies an attenuated ergodic degree induced by ZnO incorporation. For this reason, piezoelectric properties can be well-maintained below 110 °C. The electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) was employed to investigate the stress effect. Orientation maps reveal the random orientation of all grains, excluding the impact of texture on depolarization. The local misorientation image shows that more pronounced strain appears near the boundaries, implying stress is more concentrated there. This phenomenon supports the hypothesis that potential stress suppresses depolarization. These results demonstrate that the depolarization behavior is significantly improved by the introduction of ZnO. The composites BNKT-BT-xZnO are promising candidates of lead-free ceramics for practical application in the future. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Property and Structure Optimization of Piezoelectric Materials)

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Review

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22 pages, 9819 KiB

Open AccessReview

Defect Dipole Behaviors on the Strain Performances of Bismuth Sodium Titanate-Based Lead-Free Piezoceramics

by Yiyi Wang, Pu Wang, Laijun Liu, Yuyin Wang, Yingying Zhao, Wenchao Tian, Xiao Liu, Fangyuan Zhu and Jing Shi

Materials 2023, 16(11), 4008; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma16114008 - 26 May 2023

Viewed by 1286

Abstract

Bismuth sodium titanate (BNT)-based, lead-free piezoelectric materials have been extensively studied due to their excellent strain characteristics and environmental friendliness. In BNTs, the large strain (S) usually requires a relatively large electric field (E) excitation, resulting in a low inverse piezoelectric coefficient d₃₃* (S/E). Moreover, the hysteresis and fatigue of strain in these materials have also been bottlenecks impeding the applications. The current common regulation method is chemical modification, which mainly focuses on forming a solid solution near the morphotropic phase boundary (MPB) by adjusting the phase transition temperature of the materials, such as BNT-BaTiO₃, BNT-Bi_0.5K_0.5TiO₃, etc., to obtain a large strain. Additionally, the strain regulation based on the defects introduced by the acceptor, donor, or equivalent dopant or the nonstoichiometry has proven effective, but its underlying mechanism is still ambiguous. In this paper, we review the generation of strain and then discuss it from the domain, volume, and boundary effect perspectives to understand the defect dipole behavior. The asymmetric effect caused by the coupling between defect dipole polarization and ferroelectric spontaneous polarization is expounded. Moreover, the defect effect on the conductive and fatigue properties of BNT-based solid solutions is described, which will affect the strain characteristics. The optimization approach is appropriately evaluated while there are still challenges in the full understanding of the defect dipoles and their strain output, in which further efforts are needed to achieve new breakthroughs in atomic-level insight. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Property and Structure Optimization of Piezoelectric Materials)

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26 pages, 22082 KiB

Open AccessReview

Lead-Free BiFeO₃-Based Piezoelectrics: A Review of Controversial Issues and Current Research State

by Sangwook Kim, Hyunwook Nam and Ilkan Calisir

Materials 2022, 15(13), 4388; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma15134388 - 21 Jun 2022

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 3367

Abstract

Lead-free electroceramics represent an emerging area of research that has the potential to enable new green advances in electronics. Research has mainly focused on the development of new piezoelectric materials for replacing lead containing oxides exhibiting superior electromechanical behavior. Lead-free BiFeO₃-based materials are not only the promising candidates to replace lead-based materials but also show intriguing properties which may inspire innovative material design for the next generation of lead-free piezoceramics. This review aims to highlight the current state of research and overlooked aspects in lead-free BiFeO₃-based ceramics, which could be insightful in elucidating certain controversial issues. Current strategies to reduce high conductivity, influence of chemical heterogeneity on both functional properties and crystal structure, effective heat treatment procedures, and the role of pseudo-cubic structures on the enhancement of piezoelectric properties are subjects of highlighted within this review as they have a significant impact on the quality of BiFeO₃-based lead-free piezoelectrics (but are often disregarded). Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Property and Structure Optimization of Piezoelectric Materials)

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