Dielectric, impedance, and ferroelectric performances with structural heterogeneity of Sr0.7Bi0.2TiO3 modified lead-free bismuth ferrite-based ceramics.

BiFeO 3 (BF) based ceramics are inspiring great interest in advanced pulsed power applications owing to their giant spontaneous polarization, meanwhile limited by the significant leakage current. In this work, Sr 0.7 Bi 0.2 TiO 3 (SBT) modified 0.7BiFeO 3 -0.3BaTiO 3 (BF-BT) ternary lead-free relaxor ferroelectric ceramics are investigated to elaborate the dielectric performances, including the impedance, relaxor behavior, ferroelectric and energy storage, and strain properties. The substitution of SBT induces a phase transition from an R 3 c to an average pseudo-cubic structure and forms a secondary phase at high dopants. Simultaneously, the resistivity, electrically homogeneous, and band gaps are increased significantly, related to the inhibition of oxygen vacancy formation. Besides, the ferroelectric long-range order is disrupted, which promotes the formation of local defect fields and polar nanoregions. The structural heterogeneity for the higher doped components leads to an increased relaxation behavior with an almost hysteresis-free polarization response to external electric fields. Excellent temperature-insensitive dielectric response and promising dielectric energy storage properties in low electric fields are achieved, respectively. These results indicate that the SBT modification is an effective route in regulating the dielectric performance of bismuth ferrite based relaxors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]