Improvement on Qm in high-power piezoelectric ceramics through [111]c texture engineering

Improving mechanical quality factor Qm is of great significance for high-power applications. Here, a new strategy of the [111]c texture engineering was proposed to enhance the performances of high-power piezoelectric ceramics. The 5 vol% BaTiO3 (BT) templates with the [111]c preferred orientation were introduced into matrix powders of 0.03 Pb(Mn1/3 Nb2/3 )O3 -0.33Pb(Ni1/3 Nb2/3 )O3 -0.28 PbZrO3 -0.36PbTiO3 (28PZ(R)) to form the [111]c textured ceramics (28PZ(T)), possessing a texture degree of 74 %. The multiple of uniform density in EBSD increased from 0.63 in randomly oriented 28 PZ(R) to 6.63 in 28PZ(T). The good lattice matching between BT templates and textured grains was observed using high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, confirming the microscopic origin of the [111]c texture. The maximum phase angle theta max of 88.2 degrees was quite near 90 degrees in 28PZ(T), ensuring the optimal Qm value of 1275 and the great figure of merit of 255,0 0 0 pC/N. The increased Qm in [111]c texture ceramics was confirmed due to the reduced intrinsic polarization directions rather than the pinning effect of the internal bias field. Larger grain sizes with larger domains restrained the movement of domain walls in 28 PZ(T), which was also favorable to higher Qm . This work may provide a new promising route for further high-power applications. (c) 2024 Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of The editorial office of Journal of Materials Science & Technology.