Highly <001>-textured BaTiO3 ceramics with high piezoelectric performance prepared by vat photopolymerization

High-performance barium titanate (BaTiO3) piezoelectric ceramic is in demand for piezoelectric devices. Some special application scenarios require designable three-dimensional (3D) structures of piezoelectric ceramics, such as ultrasonic transducer arrays and energy storage devices. Traditional processes for Templated Grain Growth (TGG), such as tape casting, can effectively improve the piezoelectricity of bulk ceramics via crystallographic texture, but cannot fabricate ceramics with complex 3D structures, which limits the application. Herein, a method based on the vat photopolymerization (VPP) technique is innovatively employed to simultaneously achieve highly textured and 3D-structural BaTiO3 piezoelectric ceramics. Using this VPP technique, a high degree of texture (Lotgering factor = 97.4 %) in BaTiO3 ceramics is obtained. And a smaller dielectric permittivity (epsilon r = 1867) and larger piezoelectric coefficient (d33 = 275 pC/N) are realized in printed textured BaTiO3 ceramics compared to those of random BaTiO3 ceramics (epsilon r = 3303, d33 = 172 pC/N). Meanwhile, the piezoelectric voltage coefficient g33 and the figure of merit d33xg33 are increased by over 100 % and over 300 %, respectively. And the piezoelectric output performance is significantly improved. This work provides a universal strategy for fabricating high-performance and designable-3D structural piezoelectric ceramics and can promote the devel-opment and application of piezoelectric ceramics.