Structure, microstructure and dielectric properties of lead-free BCT-xBZT ceramics near the morphotropic phase boundary

Abstract

There is an urgent demand for high performance Pb-free piezoelectrics to substitute for the current workhorse, the lead zirconate titanate (PZT) family. In the present study, the high performance lead-free BCT-xBZT ceramics near the morphotropic phase boundary (MPB) were prepared by traditional method. The structure, microstructure of the ceramics samples were analyzed. Results show that MPB for these ceramics is achieved with BZT component of x = 0.48. Dielectric properties show ferroelectric-relaxor behaviour of this system. Furthermore, the combination of ImageJ and Lince software allows analyzing SEM images of the ceramics for estimating average particle size and particle size distribution.