Preparation and electrical properties of Ba0.85Ca0.15Zr0.1Ti0.9O3 ceramics by the doping of Mn ions

A series of Ba0.85Ca0.15Zr0.13(Ti1-xMnx)0.9O3 (x = 0%, 2%, 4% and 8%; Ba0.85Ca0.15Zr0.1Ti0.9O3 abbreviated as BCZT) ceramics were prepared via the sol-gel method. No secondary phase was detected in XRD patterns, indicating that Mn entered into the unit cell to form a solid solution. The microstructures for Mn-doped BCZT ceramics show Mn can inhibit the growth of BCZT grain size. The dependence of dielectric constant on tem-perature shows that the Curie temperature decreases and the degree of dispersed phase increases with the in-crease of the doping amount. When the doping amount is x = 2% and x = 4%, the hysteresis loop shows a significant shrinkage, the remanent polarization is significantly reduced, and the shrinkage is more severe under high electric field. The double hysteresis loops appeared, indicating that the hysteresis loop of BCZT ceramic can be adjusted by doping a certain amount of Mn ions. The sample of x = 4% shows an energy density of 0.18 J/cm3 and an energy efficiency of 58.5%.

Automated summary

A series of Mn-doped BCZT ceramics were prepared via the sol-gel method. Mn was found to inhibit the growth of BCZT grain size. The Curie temperature decreases and the degree of dispersed phase increases with the increase of the doping amount. The hysteresis loop of BCZT ceramic can be adjusted by doping a certain amount of Mn ions.