Morphotropic phase boundary and electrical properties in (1-x)Bi0.5Na0.5TiO3-xBi(Zn0.5Ti0.5)O-3 lead-free piezoceramics

(1-x)Bi0.5Na0.5TiO3-xBi(Zn0.5Ti0.5)O-3 [(1-x)BNT-xBZT, x=0, 0.025, 0.0375, 0.050, and 0.075] lead-free piezoceramics were prepared and their structures and electrical properties were investigated. It is found that BZT can increase the Curie temperature of BNT. A morphotropic phase boundary (MPB) separating rhombohedral and tetragonal phases exists near x=0.0375. As the result, the MPB composition shows improved electrical properties; the saturated polarization, remnant polarization, and coercive field are 42.0 mu C/cm(2), 36.5 mu C/cm(2), and 3.5 kV/mm, respectively, while the piezoelectric coefficient, planar electromechanical coupling factor, and unipolar strain are 92 pC/N, 0.22, and 0.08%, respectively. The structures and electrical properties are discussed by comparing with that of other BNT-based piezoceramics. Our results do not only supplement for BNT-based lead-free piezoceramics, but also may provide a way to develop new lead-free piezoceramics with high Curie temperature. (C) 2010 American Institute of Physics. [doi: 10.1063/1.3431387]