Effects of sintering atmosphere on microstructure and electrical properties of BiScO3-PbTiO3 high-temperature piezoceramics

BiScO3-PbTiO3 piezoelectric ceramics were fabricated by the conventional solid state reaction method. The effects of sintering atmosphere on microstructure and electrical properties of BiScO3-PbTiO3 were studied. Different weight changes were found in samples sintered in different atmospheres. X-ray diffraction analysis reveals that all the samples have perovskite structure and a second phase is observed in the samples sintered in sacrificial powders. EDS analysis suggests the second phase could be the compound containing Bi and Pb. Samples sintered in air show lower dielectric constant than those sintered in sacrificial powders, but a higher piezoelectric coefficient. The resisitivity of samples sintered in air is about one order of magnitude higher than that of those sintered in sacrificial powders. These results suggest a promising method to gain BiScO3-PbTiO3 high-temperature piezoceramics with excellent electromechanical properties. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.