Achieving high energy storage density of PLZS antiferroelectric within a wide range of components

In this paper, (Pb0.98La0.02) (ZrxSn1-x)0.995 O3 (PLZS) antiferroelectric materials with different Zr/Sn ratios were fabricated by means of the rolling process, and the effects of Zr/Sn ratio on the phase structure and dielectric properties were systemically studied. All samples exhibited an orthorhombic structure. Furthermore, the results showed that the ABO3 phase structure could be easily formed when the Zr/Sn ratio was close to 1:1. The saturation polarization strength and the energy storage density increased with increasing Zr content, reaching peak value of 36 μC/cm2 and 9.5 J/cm3 at 0.49 and 0.55, respectively, and then decreased with a further increase of the Zr content. Besides, with increasing Zr content, the energy storage efficiency initially maintained a stable value of ~ 90% and then gradually decreased. The switching electric field of these materials was around 30 kV/mm and increased slightly with increasing Zr content. For all these samples, the dependence of dielectric constant on temperature varied similarly. A new intermediate state named “multicell cubic” appeared during the phase transition from the antiferroelectric phase to the paraelectric phase, which was different from the phase transition of traditional antiferroelectric materials. Moreover, the Curie temperature increased with increasing Zr content and then decreased. Based on the above result, PLZS AFEs could be a promising high-power energy storage material.