Piezoelectric properties of environmental friendly bismuth doped barium titanate ceramics

Piezoelectric properties of bismuth doped barium titanate ceramics have been investigated. It is found that up to a certain concentration Bi is soluble in BaTiO3 and beyond that additional phase arises. It is clearly confirmed from XRD results. Up to a concentration of 2 wt.% single phase perovskite structure is obtained as the peaks in XRD show. But beyond that concentration additional peak arises which can be assigned due to the phase Bi2Ti2O7. All the piezoelectric properties of the ceramic system have been stalled by the appearance of the additional phase. Good values of piezoelectric charge constant, electromechanical coupling coefficient, strain and remnant polarization indicate that within the solubility limit Bi doped BaTiO3 ceramic system is a promising candidate for lead free environmental friendly ceramic applications. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.