Effect of dwell time during sintering on piezoelectric properties of (Ba0.85Ca0.15)(Ti0.90Zr0.10)O3 lead-free ceramics

In this letter, the effect of dwell time (1-6 h) during sintering on the piezoelectric properties is investigated for the (Ba0.85Ca0.15)(Ti0.90Zr0.10)O-3 ceramics. All ceramics sintered at different dwell time are of a pure phase, and its structure distortion is induced by too long dwell time. Their dielectric constant and remanent polarization increases and the coercive field decreases with increasing dwell time. An enhanced piezoelectric behavior (d(33) similar to 492 pC/N and k(p) similar to 51.5%) is demonstrated for the BCTZ ceramic with an optimum dwell time of 5 h, owing to the structure distortion together with a dense microstructure and a larger grain size. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.