The effect of BaTiO3 doping with Pb(Zn1/3Nb2/3)O3 and E-poling on structural, dielectric, thermal, and mechanical properties: An analysis of the intermediate state between ferroelectric and relaxor

In this study, the structural, dielectric, thermal and mechanical properties of the new low-lead (1-x)BaTiO 3 -xPb(Zn 1/3 Nb 2/3 )O 3 (x = 0, 0.95, 0.1 and 0.15) marked as (1-x)BT-xPZN ceramics are investigated. The samples were prepared using the spark plasma sintering (SPS) technique. The aim of this research is to determine how PZN doping to BT affects their functional behavior and the relationship between micro- and macroscopic properties in unpoled and poled states. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis showed that all samples had a pure perovskite structure. The temperature evolution of Raman spectra indicates that the tetragonal-cubic transition is not sharp and tetragonal polar regions appear in the cubic phase. It was found that the phase transition temperatures obtained from Raman data are higher than those obtained from XRD, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and dielectric measurements. This is mainly connected with the presence of intergrain stresses in small size grains. The results indicate that a short-range modulation of crystal structure, rather than a change in long-range interactions, is the responsible for the changes in properties upon introduction of PZN into BT. The studied materials exhibit an intermediate state between ferroelectrics and relaxors. It was shown that a prior E -field poling process significantly increases the local degree of order, facilitates the development of long-range polar order and leads to an increased phase transition temperature. The measured elastic moduli indicate that the investigated materials possess high hardness and mechanical stability. BaTiO 3 -Pb(Zn 1/3 Nb 2/3 )O 3 ceramic system has great potential as a base material for the developing of new low-lead electronic ceramics.