Enhancing the dielectric, electrocaloric and energy storage properties of lead-free Ba0.85Ca0.15Zr0.1Ti0.9O3 ceramics prepared via sol-gel process

The Ba0.85Ca0.15Zr0.1Ti0.9O3 (BCZT) ceramics were successfully prepared by the sol-gel process and sintered at 1420 °C. The effect of sintering times (2, 4 and 6 h) on structural, microstructural, electric properties, energy storage, and electrocaloric effect was systematically examined. X-ray diffraction (XRD) results show that all the samples crystallize in the pure perovskite structure. The morphotropic phase transition from the tetragonal to the orthorhombic phase (T-O) was identified and confirmed by Rietveld refinement. The BCZT ceramic sintered at 1420 °C for 4 h possesses a good relative density of 98% and exhibits optimal properties with a high dielectric permittivity (er,max) ~16310, a large electrocaloric effect coefficient (ξ) ~ 0.244Kmm/kV and a high energy storage efficiency of 63.65%.