Perovskite phase formation and ferroelectric properties of the lead nickel niobate–lead zinc niobate–lead zirconate titanate ternary system

The ternary system of lead nickel niobate Pb(Ni1/3Nb2/3)O3 (PNN), lead zinc niobate Pb(Zn1/3Nb2/3)O3 (PZN), and lead zirconate titanate Pb(Zr1/2Ti1/2)O3 (PZT) was investigated to determine the influence of different solid state processing conditions on dielectric and ferroelectric properties. The ceramic materials were characterized using x-ray diffraction, dielectric measurements, and hysteresis measurements. To stabilize the perovskite phase, the columbite route was utilized with a double crucible technique and excess PbO. The phase-pure perovskite phase of PNN–PZN–PZT ceramics was obtained over a wide compositional range. It was observed that for the ternary system 0.5PNN–(0.5 - x)PZN–xPZT, the change in the transition temperature (Tm) is approximately linear with respect to the PZT content in the range x [H11505] 0 to 0.5. With an increase in x, Tm shifts up to high temperatures. Examination of the remanent polarization (Pr) revealed a significant increase with increasing x. In addition, the relative permittivity ([H9280]r) increased as a function of x. The highest permittivities ([H9280]r[H11505] 22,000) and the highest remanent polarization (Pr [H11505] 25 μC/cm2) were recorded for the binary composition 0.5Pb(Ni1/3Nb2/3)O3–0.5Pb(Zr1/2Ti1/2)O3

Improvement in dielectric and mechanical performance of CaCu3.1Ti4O12.1 by addition of Al2O3 nanoparticles

The properties of CaCu3.1Ti4O12.1 [CC3.1TO] ceramics with the addition of Al2O3 nanoparticles, prepared via a solid-state reaction technique, were investigated. The nanoparticle additive was found to inhibit grain growth with the average grain size decreasing from approximately 7.5 μm for CC3.1TO to approximately 2.0 μm for the unmodified samples, while the Knoop hardness value was found to improve with a maximum value of 9.8 GPa for the 1 vol.% Al2O3 sample. A very high dielectric constant > 60,000 with a low loss tangent (approximately 0.09) was observed for the 0.5 vol.% Al2O3 sample at 1 kHz and at room temperature. These data suggest that nanocomposites have a great potential for dielectric applications

Fabrication of transparent lead-free KNN glass ceramics by incorporation method

The incorporation method was employed to produce potassium sodium niobate [KNN] (K0.5Na0.5NbO3) glass ceramics from the KNN-SiO2 system. This incorporation method combines a simple mixed-oxide technique for producing KNN powder and a conventional melt-quenching technique to form the resulting glass. KNN was calcined at 800°C and subsequently mixed with SiO2 in the KNN:SiO2 ratio of 75:25 (mol%). The successfully produced optically transparent glass was then subjected to a heat treatment schedule at temperatures ranging from 525°C -575°C for crystallization. All glass ceramics of more than 40% transmittance crystallized into KNN nanocrystals that were rectangular in shape and dispersed well throughout the glass matrix. The crystal size and crystallinity were found to increase with increasing heat treatment temperature, which in turn plays an important role in controlling the properties of the glass ceramics, including physical, optical, and dielectric properties. The transparency of the glass samples decreased with increasing crystal size. The maximum room temperature dielectric constant (εr) was as high as 474 at 10 kHz with an acceptable low loss (tanδ) around 0.02 at 10 kHz

The morphotropic phase boundary and dielectric properties of the xPb(Zr1/2Ti1/2)O3-(1−x)Pb(Ni1/3Nb2/3)O3 perovskite solid solution

The solid solution between the normal ferroelectricPb(Zr1/2Ti1/2)O3(PZT) and relaxor ferroelectricPb(Ni1/3Nb2/3)O3 (PNN) was synthesized by the columbite method. The phase structure and dielectric properties of xPZT-(1−x)PNN where x=0.4–0.9and the Zr/Ti composition was fixed close to the morphotropic phase boundary (MPB) were investigated. With these data, the ferroelectric phase diagram between PZT and PNN has been established. The relaxor ferroelectric nature of PNN gradually transformed towards a normal ferroelectric state towards the composition 0.7PZT-0.3PNN, in which the permittivity was characterized by a sharp peak and the disappearance of dispersive behavior. X-ray diffraction analysis demonstrated the coexistence of both the rhombohedral and tetragonal phases at the composition 0.8PZT-0.2PNN, a new morphotropic phase boundary within this system. Examination of the dielectric spectra indicates that PZT-PNN exhibits an extremely high relative permittivity near the MPB composition. The permittivity shows a shoulder at the rhombohedral to tetragonal phase transition temperature TRT=195°C, and then a maximum permittivity (36 000 at 10kHz) at the transition temperature Tmax=277°C at the MPB composition. The maximum transition temperature of this system was 326°C at the composition x=0.9 with the relative permittivity of 32 000 at 10kHz

Effects of NiO nanoparticles on the magnetic properties and diffuse phase transition of BZT/NiO composites

A new composite system, Ba(Zr0.07Ti0.93)O3 (BZT93) ceramic/NiO nanoparticles, was fabricated to investigate the effect of NiO nanoparticles on the properties of these composites. M-H hysteresis loops showed an improvement in the magnetic behavior for higher NiO content samples plus modified ferroelectric properties. However, the 1 vol.% samples showed the optimum ferroelectric and ferromagnetic properties. Examination of the dielectric spectra showed that the NiO additive promoted a diffuse phase transition, and the two phase transition temperatures, as observed for BZT93, merged into a single phase transition temperature for the composite samples

Effects of NiO nanoparticles on the magnetic properties and diffuse phase transition of BZT/NiO composites

A new composite system, Ba(Zr[subscript 0.07]Ti[subscript 0.93])O₃ (BZT93) ceramic/NiO nanoparticles, was fabricated to investigate the effect of NiO nanoparticles on the properties of these composites. M-H hysteresis loops showed an improvement in the magnetic behavior for higher NiO content samples plus modified ferroelectric properties. However, the 1 vol. % samples showed the optimum ferroelectric and ferromagnetic properties. Examination of the dielectric spectra showed that the NiO additive promoted a diffuse phase transition, and the two phase transition temperatures, as observed for BZT93, merged into a single phase transition temperature for the composite samples.This is the publisher’s final pdf. The published article is copyrighted by the author(s) and published by Springer. The published article can be found at: http://www.nanoscalereslett.com/.Keywords: microstructure, ceramics, composites, electrical properties, magnetic propertie

Electrical and Piezoelectric Behavior of Polyamide/PZT/CNT Multifunctional Nanocomposites

Three-phase polyamide 11 (PA 11)/lead zirconate titanate (PZT)/carbon nanotubes (CNT) composites are elaborated by extrusion. The influence of inorganic particles on the electrical properties of conductive composites and the influence of conductive particles on the ferroelectric properties of organic/inorganic composites are both studied. Inorganic particles do not modify the establishment of the electrical percolation path of CNTs either regarding the percolation threshold value or the conductivity reached above this insulator–conductive transition. The dielectric permittivity of twophase PA 11/PZT composites is improved with the addition of only 0.2% in volume of CNTs. This three-phase composite could be proposed for actuation, energy harvesting and damping performances enhancement