Effect of Phase Transitions on Thermal Depoling in Lead-Free 0.94(Bi0.5Na0.5TiO3)-0.06(BaTiO3) Based Piezoelectrics

0.94(Bi0.5Na0.5TiO3)-0.06(BaTiO3) (BNTBT) is a potential lead-free piezoelectric candidate to replace lead-based PZT ceramics. The thermal depoling temperature sets the upper limit for the high temperature application of piezoelectric materials. Recently, an interface model was proposed to explain the good resistance to thermal depoling of BNTBT-ZnO composite. However, we found that the presence of ZnO was not limited to the interface, but contributed intrinsically to the BNTBT lattice. This played a critical role in the structural changes of BNTBT, confirmed by a unit volume change supported by XRD, which was further proved by Raman, EDS, and dielectric characterization at different temperatures. The previous interface model is not correct because BNTBT shows thermally stable piezoelectric properties, even though there is no interface between BNTBT and ZnO. The thermal depoling behavior of BNTBT-based materials is directly related to the transition temperature from the rhombohedral phase to the tetragonal phase in our phase transition model, which is consistent with four current peaks in their ferroelectric loops close to the depoling temperature.