Chemical and structural effects on the high-temperature mechanical behavior of (1−x)(Na{sub 1/2}Bi{sub 1/2})TiO{sub 3}-xBaTiO{sub 3} ceramics

Bismuth sodium titanate–barium titanate [(1−x)(Na{sub 1/2}Bi{sub 1/2})TiO{sub 3}-xBaTiO{sub 3}, NBT-100xBT] is one of the most well studied lead-free piezoelectric materials due in large part to the high field-induced strain attainable in compositions near the morphotropic phase boundary (x = 0.06). The BaTiO{sub 3}-rich side of the phase diagram, however, has not yet been as comprehensively studied, although it might be important for piezoelectric and positive temperature coefficient ceramic applications. In this work, we present a thorough study of BaTiO{sub 3}-rich NBT-100xBT by ferroelastic measurements, dielectric permittivity, X-ray diffraction, and Raman spectroscopy. We show that the high-temperature mechanical behavior, i.e., above the Curie temperature, T{sub C}, is influenced by local disorder, which appears also in pure BT. On the other hand, in NBT-100xBT (x