Enhanced Piezoelectric Properties of (1-x)[0.675BiFeO(3)-0.325BaTiO(3)]-xLiTaO(3) Ternary System by Air-Quenching

Lead free (1-x)(0.675BiFeO(3)-0.325BaTiO(3))-xLiTaO(3) (BFBTLT, x = 0, 0.01, 0.02, and 0.03, with 0.6 mol% MnO2 and 0.4 mol% CuO) were prepared by a solid state reaction method, followed by air quenching and their crystalline phase, morphology, dielectric, ferroelectric and piezoelectric properties were explored. An X-ray diffraction study indicates that lithium (Li) and tantalum (Ta) were fully incorporated in the BFBT materials with the absence of any secondary phases. Dense ceramic samples (> 92 %) with a wide range of grain sizes from 3.70 mu m to 1.82 mu m were obtained in the selected compositions (0 <= x <= 0.03) of BFBTLT system. The maximum temperatures (T-max) were mostly higher than 420 degrees C in the studied composition range. The maximum values of maximum polarization (P-max approximate to 31.01 mu C/cm(2)), remnant polarization (P-rem approximate to 22.82 mu C/cm(2)) and static piezoelectric constant (d(33) approximate to 145 pC/N) were obtained at BFBT-0.01LT composition with 0.6 mol% MnO2 and 0.4 mol% CuO. This study demonstrates that the high T-max and d(33) for BFBTLT ceramics are favorable for industrial applications.