A series of 0-3 composites of lead zirconate titanate and ferroelectric nylon77: Preparation and electrical properties

A series of 0-3 composites of lead zirconate titanate (PZT) and nylon77 was prepared with PZT volume fractions between 0.1 and 0.6 using the combined method of solvent casting and hot pressing. Depending upon the volume fraction of PZT, the relative permittivities of the composites were found to be in the range of 200–2000 when measured at the highest practically possible temperature of 200°C. As PZT volume fraction increases, both the relative permittivity and the piezoelectric constant d33 increase. The best combination of electrical properties and flexibility was obtained in 0.5 PZT volume fraction composites. At this composition, the remanent polarization Pr of composites was up to 1000 mC/m2 at the applied electric field of 40 MV/m and it increased with an increase in temperature. The highest piezoelectric strain coefficient d33 was obtained at 17 pC/N in 0.6 PZT volume fraction composites. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2009