Effect of sintering temperature on (Ba0.85Ca0.15) (SnxZr0.1-xTi0.9)O3 for piezoelectric energy harvesting applications

The piezoelectric performance of (Ba0.85Ca0.15)(SnxZr0.1-xTi0.9)O3 (BCSZT) ceramics with x = 0, 0.025, 0.05, 0.075, and 0.10 for energy harvesting applications can be optimized by varying the sintering temperature. These BCSZT ceramics were prepared at three different sintering temperatures (1250 ?C, 1350 ?C and 1450 ?C). The relative density for all samples increased as the sintering temperature increased, thereby enhancing the dielectric properties of the BCSZT ceramics. The ?max values of the BCSZT ceramics were improved up to 50% when the sintering temperature was increased from 1250 ?C to 1450 ?C. The Tc shifted towards a lower temperature (95 ?C down to 59 ?C) as the Sn content increased. However, the effect of sintering temperature on Tc was barely observed because the variation in grain size between all BCSZT ceramics was very small. Therefore, it was suggested that the sintering temperature had a small impact on Tc because of the diffusibility of the samples. The ?T value for the BCSZT ceramics was the highest when the samples were sintered at 1250 ?C, which meant that the diffuse phase transition was more obvious at lower sintering temperatures. The sample with x = 0.025 showed the most promise as a piezoelectric material for energy harvesting applications.