Effect of LiBiO2 on low-temperature sintering of PZT-PZNN ceramics

In this study, the sintering characteristics of 0.69Pb(Zr0.47Ti0.53)O-3-0.31Pb[(Zn0.4Ni0.6)(1/3)Nb-2/3] (PZT-PZNN) ceramics after the addition of LiBiO2 were studied. This addition lowered the sintering temperature from 1150 to 900 degrees C. The crystal structure changed from tetragonal to rhombohedral as the additive content increased by 0.7%. The polarization of the sintered specimen was conducted at an electric field of 3 kV/mm. When 0.7 wt% of LiBiO2 was added and sintered at 900 degrees C, the piezoelectric constant (d(33)) was 602 pC/N; moreover, the electromechanical coupling coefficient (k(P)), sintered density, and Curie temperature (T-c) at 1 kHz were 66.3%, 7.99 g/cm(3), and 252.8 degrees C, respectively. When 0.7 wt% of LiBiO2 was added, the PZT-PZNN ceramic showed an increased strain curve of 0.118% at 2 kV/mm. The interdiffusion between the copper (Cu) electrode and ceramic material was not observed in the scanning electron microscopy (SEM) results; thus, the possibility of manufacturing an actuator using a Cu electrode using a novel composition was confirmed. The actuator displacement with the voltage 400 V was 1.2 mu m. The thickness of the multi-layered actuator was 1 mm. Through this, the possibility of manufacturing a multi-layered actuator with a Cu electrode was confirmed through the composition of 0.69PZT-0.31PZNN (LiBiO2 0.7 wt%).