Effect of pore former sucrose on microstructure and electrical properties of porous BZT-0.5BCT ceramics

The present paper aims to study the effect of different pore forming agent on the density, porosity, pore morphology and electrical properties of porous BZT-0.5BCT ceramics. The electrical property evaluation is focused on dielectric constant, ferroelectric properties (P-E loop) and piezoelectric constant (d(33) and g(33)) of the porous BZT-0.5BCT ceramics. BZT-0.5BCT powder was prepared by solid-state route. The porous ceramic was prepared by mixing BZT-0.5BCT with different percentage (10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 vol%) of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and sucrose as pore-forming agents (PFA). As a result, density, relative permittivity, remanent polarization and piezoelectric constant decreased linearly with increase in pore former addition. The pores derived from PVA and sucrose as pore former were spherical to irregular in shape. Isolated pores are observed up to 30 vol% of PFA addition and pore interconnectivity is observed at 40 vol% of PVA and sucrose addition. The decrease in electrical properties is much higher in sucrose when compared with PVA as a pore former.