High energy-density 0.72Pb(Zr0.47Ti0.53)O3-0.28Pb[(Zn0.45Ni0.55)1/3Nb2/3]O3 thick films fabricated by tape casting for energy-harvesting-device applications

0.72Pb(Zr 0.47 Ti 0.53 )O 3 -0.28Pb[(Zn 0.45 Ni 0.55 ) 1/3 Nb 2/3 ]O 3 (0.72PZT-0.28PZNN) thick films were prepared by using a tape casting method to develop new materials with high energy-density applicable to energy-harvesting devices. The piezoelectric strain constant ( d 33 ), dielectric constant ( ɛ 33 T / ɛ 0 ), piezoelectric voltage constant ( g 33 ) and transduction coefficient ( d 33 · g 33 ) of the films were affected by the sintering temperature. These results could be attributed to the crystal structure, microstructures and secondary phases. However, the dielectric loss (tan δ ) of the films was not changed remarkably with increasing sintering temperature. Typically, a d 33 of 452 pC/N, ɛ 33 T / ɛ 0 of 1444, d 33 · g 33 of 20,340 × 10 −15 m 2 /N and tan δ of 0.15% were obtained for the films sintered at 1050 °C for 1 h. The power generation performance of the piezoelectric unimorph cantilever was assessed to demonstrate the feasibility of the 0.72PZT-0.28PZNN piezoelectric thick film. Also, theoretical models were employed to predict the resonance frequency of the unimorph cantilever generator, and the predicted values were compared with experimental data.