Enhanced piezoelectricity in Pb(Zr0.48Ti0.52)O3-Pb(Mn1/3Sb2/3)O3-Pb(Mg1/3Ta2/3)O3 ceramics through the synergistic effect of defect engineering and lattice distortion

With the increasing demand for industrial applications, it has become crucial to develop special high-power devices that can achieve both high piezoelectric performance and large mechanical quality factor. In this work, we prepared quaternary piezoelectric ceramics, namely (0.95-x)Pb(Zr0.48Ti0.52)O3-xPb(Mg1/3Ta2/3)O3-0.05Pb(Mn1/3Sb2/3)O3 (PZT-PMT-PMS), using a traditional solid-state route. These ceramics exhibit an excellent mechanical quality factor and low loss. By adding an appropriate amount of PMT (x = 0.09), the Mg2+ ions were homogeneously incorporated into the crystal lattice, resulting in a reduction in the content of the tetragonal phase. The formation of (MgZr,Ti′′−VO..) defect dipoles has been studied through Rietveld refinement, which indicates that defect dipoles can hinder domain-wall motion, strengthen the pinning effect, and result in a “harder” performance. Moreover, the high asymmetry caused by large lattice distortion, regulates the piezoelectric properties. The sample shows the optimal performance when the PMT content is 0.09, with d33 = 430 pC/N, Qm = 1740, TC = 258 °C, εr = 1740, tanδ = 0.16 %, Pr = 44.5μC/cm2, and kp = 0.569. •The introduction of PMT components caused highly asymmetric lattice structures.•Large lattice distortion and defect dipoles enhanced the piezoelectric response.•Novel piezoelectric properties were obtained in PZT-PMS-PMT ceramics.