The internal microstructure of lead zirconium titanate ceramics at ambient temperature and 77 K by synchrotron phase contrast X-ray microtomography

Lead zirconium titanate (PZT) is a ubiquitous piezoelectric ceramic material used in sensing/actuation, with applications such as in electronics or energy harvesting. Its functionality at low temperature is less explored, although piezoelectric materials have potential applications in deep space and low temperature/cryogenic environments. Non-destructive X-ray imaging of PZT, at room and low temperature, remains unexplored and is challenging due to its lead (Pb) content. To overcome this, high energy X-ray photons were used to investigate commercial hard and soft PZT ceramics and their microstructures at 300 K and 77 K. The results show a clear variation in the porosity between the soft and hard PZT, with the former having higher porosity. At low temperature, the materials thermally contract by about 4–8 µm, straining the microstructures. Combined with electrical characterization, the results show that in addition to the material’s pyroelectric behaviour, a large thermal contraction and material porosity can also impact the polarization switching behavior at low temperatures. The results provide new insights on the effects of processing and microstructure on the ferroelectric response in PZT, using synchrotron X-ray microtomography, and can potentially be used as another tool in the microstructrual and domain engineering of Pb and non-Pb based piezoelectric/ferroelectric materials. • Performed non-destructive characterization of commercial PbZrTiO 3 ceramic at ambient and 77 K environment for the first time. • The difference between hard 4D and soft 5A PZT can also be attributed to the differences in pore size distribution. • Low temperature X-ray imaging and electrical characterization, show correlation between porosity contents, microstructural changes and the switching behavior. Paving way for better design and pore engineering of PbZrTiO 3 ceramics for low temperature or deep space applications.