Enhanced electrostricitive properties and thermal endurance of textured (Bi0.5Na0.5)TiO3-BaTiO3-(K0.5Na0.5)NbO3 ceramics

Textured 0.92(Bi0.5Na0.5)TiO3-0.06BaTiO(3)-0.02(K0.5Na0.5)NbO3 (BNT-BT-KNN) ceramics have been produced by tape casting with pure-phase (Bi0.5Na0.5)TiO3 templates. Through the approach of texture construction, enhanced electrostrictive response was obtained with an electrostrictive coefficient Q(33) (similar to 0.024 m(4)/C-2 at 60 kV/cm) and good thermostability comparable with that of traditional Pb-based electrostrictors. Even at an electric-field as low as 35 kV/cm or at a temperature as high as 180 degrees C, samples still possess a large electrostrictive response with Q(33) > 0.022 m(4)/C-2, suggesting it is very promising for practical applications as a lead-free electrostrictive material owning to its wide usage range. Moreover, reducing the applied electric-filed or increasing temperature can both induce the predominant to pure electrostriction transition due to the little contributions of electrostriction strain from ferroelectric domain switching. Our work may provide a new recipe for designing high-performance BNT-based lead-free electrostrictive materials by means of texture construction. (C) 2013 AIP Publishing LLC.