Enhancing Electromechanical Properties of Pb(Sc1/2Nb1/2)O3-PbZrO3-PbTiO3 Piezoelectric Ceramics via Templated Grain Growth

Relaxor-PbTiO3-based ternary ferroelectric solid-solution ceramics with high Curie temperature end members are effective to achieve broader usage temperature range and drive field stability, meanwhile with comparable piezoelectric responses to binary Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O-3-PbTiO3 (PMN-PT). Templated grain growth is viable alternative to crystal growth that uses templates to induce crystal orientation along a specific direction, thus enhancing the piezoelectric response. In this research, perovskite Pb(Sc1/2Nb1/2)O-3-PbZrO3-PbTiO3 (PSN-PZ-PT) system with varying components is developed to determine the morphotropic phase boundary; together with the texturing characteristics, a high piezoelectric response with broad temperature usage range is expected. 37.5PSN-20PZ-42.5PT exhibits enhanced piezoelectric d(33) of 530 pC N-1 and strain level of 0.20% at 20 kV cm(-1), while retaining a high Curie temperature of 309 degrees C. Of particular interest is that a high piezoelectric voltage coefficient g(33), totaling 56 x 10(-3) Vm N-1 can be achieved in this composition, leading to a high figure of merit, (d(33) x g(33))/tan delta, of 5.8 x 10(-10) m(2) N-1, one order higher than that of PMN-PT textured counterpart, being potential for energy harvesting and hydrophone applications.