Structural, Ferroelectric and Field-Induced Strain Response of Nb-Modified (Bi0.5Na0.5) TiO3-SrZrO3 Lead-Free Ceramics

Lead-free ceramics system of 0.96[Bi0.5Na0.5Ti(1-x)NbxO3]-0.04SrZrO(3) BNT-SZ-Nb100x (with Nb100x = 0-4) were prepared by a solid-state reaction method. X-ray diffraction analysis revealed the formation of pure perovskite phase with x 0.03. The temperature dependence of dielectric curves showed that maximum dielectric constant temperature (T-m) shifted towards lower temperatures and the curves become more diffuse with increasing Nb doping. Ferroelectric curves indicated a disruption of ferroelectric order upon Nb addition. From Nb0 to Nb2 ceramics, maximum values for the field-induced strain (S-max) was enhanced from 0.09 to 0.22%. The corresponding normalized strain (S-max/E-max) was increased from 125 to 315 pm/V.