Electric field induced strain, switching and energy storage behaviour of lead free Barium Zirconium Titanate ceramic

There is a huge demand of lead-free high performance ceramics with large strain, low hysteresis loss and high-energy storage ability at room temperature. In this context, we investigated the large electric field induced strain, switching behaviour and energy storage properties of BaZr0.05Ti0.95O3 ceramic (BZT) prepared by high energy ball milling technique, reportedly exhibiting a triple point transition near the room temperature. The X-ray diffraction of the BZT ceramic confirms orthorhombic symmetry with space group Amm2 at room temperature. The room temperature dielectric study reveals that there is a negligible variation of dielectric constant and dielectric loss with frequency. The polarization behaviour at various applied electric fields was studied and the energy storage densities were obtained from the integral area of P-E loops. Electric field induced strain behaviour has been studied with due emphasis on the electrostrictive response at room temperature. The ferroelectric and electromechanical properties derived from the P-E and S-E loops suggest that the present ceramic encompass the properties of actuation and energy storage simultaneously.