Electromechanical response and piezoelectric properties in (Ba0.85Ca0.15) (Zr0.1Ti0.9)O3 piezoceramics using nano-sized AlN modification

High piezoelectric performance, large electromechanical response, good temperature stability and fatigue endurance are required for the commercialization of piezoelectric materials. Unfortunately, improved piezoelectric properties commonly couples with the obvious deterioration of temperature stability and fatigue resistance in BaTiO3 (BT)-related piezoceramics. In this work, we demonstrated that introducing nano-sized AlN into (Ba0.85Ca0.15)(Zr0.1Ti0.9)O-3 (BCZT) can resolve this challenge when prepared with low temperature sintering followed by conventional solid state reaction method. Here, we achieved prominent comprehensive performance: large piezoelectric and electromechanical response (d(33)similar to 486pC/N, S-max/E-max similar to 550 pm/V),good temperature stability (T-c similar to 90 degrees C, large Q(33) from 27 degrees C to 120 degrees C), and improved fatigue endurance (less than 3% and 6% variation for P-r and unipolar strain up to 10(5) cycles, respectively) in nano-sized AlN-modified BCZT ceramics at a low sintering temperature (1350 degrees C/2 h). The remarkable improvement in materials properties was mainly ascribed to the uniform microstructure and the stabilization of orthorhombic/tetragonal phase coexistence near room temperature driven by nano-sized MN-doped impact. Furthermore, a facile approach on basis of the field-dependent piezoelectric coefficient d(33) (E) measurement was demonstrated to examine in situ temperature-dependent d(33) , as an alternative for the traditional ex situ method. This study provides a referential guide to balance the paradox between piezoelectric property and temperature stability and fatigue resistance in lead-free BT-based ceramics, and may accelerate the development of lead-free piezoelectric ceramics.