Enhancing high power performances of Pb(Mn1/3Nb2/3)O3–Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 ceramics by Bi(Ni1/2Ti1/2)O3 modification.

High power piezoelectric ceramics 0.04Bi(Ni 1/2 Ti 1/2)O 3 - x Pb(Mn 1/3 Nb 2/3)O 3 -(0.96- x)Pb(Zr y Ti 1- y)O 3 (BNT- x PMnN-PZ y T) with various contents of PMnN from 0 to 12 mol% (keep y = 0.50) and Zr/Ti ratio gradually increasing from 48/52 to 52/48 (keep x = 0.06) were prepared by solid-state method. X-ray diffraction (XRD) results show a single phase of polycrystalline perovskite and indicate that the phase structure transforms from tetragonal phase to rhombohedral with x and y increasing. The optimal comprehensive properties of BNT- x PMnN-PZ y T ceramic, d 33 (355 pC/N), k p (0.58), ε r (1512), tanδ (0.40%), T c (336 °C) and Q m (2010), are obtained at x = 0.06 and y = 0.50, which are apparently superior to typical or commercial Pb(Zr,Ti)O 3 (PZT) based power ceramics. Within the range from room temperature to 200 °C, the variation of electric-field induced strains is less than 8.3%, indicating its good temperature stability. The maximum vibration velocity of the ceramic at temperature rise of 20 °C is measured to be 0.92 m/s, which is about 2 times higher than that of commercial hard PZT ceramics, suggesting the BNT- x PMnN-PZ y T ceramic is a competitive and potential candidate for power piezoelectric transduction and actuation applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]