Effect of CuO on the sintering temperature and piezoelectric properties of MnO2-doped 0.75Pb(Zr0.47Ti0.53)O3-0.25Pb(Zn1/3Nb2/3)O3 ceramics

The sintering temperature of 0.75pb(Zr0.47Ti0.53)O-3-0.25Pb(Zn1/3Nb2/3)O-3 ceramics containing 1.5 mol% MnO2 was decreased from 930 to 850 degrees C with the addition of CuO. The CuO reacted with the PbO and formed a liquid phase during the sintering, which assisted the densification of the specimens. Most of the Cu2+ ions existed in the CuO second phase, thereby preventing any possible hardening effect from the Cu2+ ions. Variations of the k(p), Q(m), epsilon(T)(3)/epsilon(0) and d(33) values with CuO were similar to that of the relative density. The specimen containing 0.5 mol% CuO sintered at 850 degrees C showed the good piezoelectric properties of kp = 0.5, Q(m) = 1000, epsilon(T)(3)/epsilon(0) = 1750 and d(33) = 300 pC/N. (C) 2011 Published by Elsevier B.V.