Effects of cerium on structures and electrical properties of (Nb, Ta) modified Bi4Ti3O12 piezoelectric ceramics

Bi4Ti3O12 high-temperature piezoelectric ceramics composed of 0.03 mol (Nb, Ta)(5+) substituting B site and x mol CeO2 (x = 0-0.05, abbreviated as BCTNT100x) substituting A site were synthesized by the conventional solid-state reaction method. The effects of Ce additive on the structures and electrical properties of resulting Bi4Ti3O12-based ceramics were systematically investigated. In-situ temperature-dependent X-ray diffraction (XRD) confirmed that the phase structure of BCTNT100x ceramics change from orthorhombic structure to tetragonal structure as temperature increased. The ceramics at Ce content x = 0.03 illustrated optimal performances with superior piezoelectric constant (d(33) = 36.5 pC/N), high Curie temperature (T-C = 649 degrees C), and large remanent polarization (2P(r) = 21.6 mu C/cm(2)). BCTNT3 ceramics also possessed high d(33) of 32.5 pC/N at an annealing temperature of 600 degrees C, with electrical resistivity preserved at 10(6) omega cm at 500 degrees C. These results demonstrate that BCTNT100x ceramics can be used as high-temperature piezoelectric devices.

Automated summary

This study synthesized Bi4Ti3O12 high-temperature piezoelectric ceramics composed of 0.03 mol (Nb, Ta)(5+) substituting B site and x mol CeO2 (x = 0-0.05) substituting A site using the conventional solid-state reaction method. The effects of Ce additive on the structures and electrical properties of these ceramics were investigated systematically.