Phase transitional behavior and electrical properties of (1-x)(K0.475Na0.48Li0.05)Nb0.95Sb0.05O3-xCaZrO3 lead-free ceramics

Lead-free piezoelectric ceramics (1 - x)(K0.47Na0.48Li0.05)Nb0.95Sb0.05O3-xCaZrO(3) with perovskite structure were prepared by conventional ceramic sintering technique, and the effects of the CaZrO3 content on the phase transitions, dielectric and piezoelectric properties of the ceramics were investigated. With the increase of CaZrO3, the crystal structure of the ceramics transformed from the orthorhombic-tetragonal phase coexistence to the coexistence of rhombohedral and orthorhombic phases at x = 0.01. Furthermore, both the rhombohedral-orthorhombic and orthorhombic-tetragonal phase transitions of the ceramics were found adjusted to be near room temperature with x = 0.005, which results in a significantly enhanced piezoelectric activity. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.