Phase diagram and electric properties of the (Mn, K)-modified Bi0.5Na0.5TiO3–BaTiO3 lead-free ceramics

In this study, the phase diagram and electric properties were demonstrated for a (Mn, K)-modified Bi 0.5 Na 0.5 TiO 3 (BNT)-based solid solution. (0.935− x ) Bi 0.5 Na 0.5 TiO 3 − x Bi 0.5 K 0.5 TiO 3 −0.065BaTiO 3 with 0.5% mol Mn doping was prepared by a conventional solid-state reaction method. A morphotropic phase boundary (MPB) formed between the ferroelectric rhombohedral and tetragonal phases around x of 0.04 with the MPB tolerance factor t of 0.984–0.986. The temperature and composition dependence of the dielectric, piezoelectric, ferroelectric properties along with the strain characteristics were investigated in detail and a phase diagram was presented. Around the MPB region, the maximum values of piezoelectric constant of 290 pC/N, d 33 of 155 pC/N, dielectric constant of 1059 and low dielectric loss tangent tan δ of 0.017 were obtained. In addition, the authors also suggest that the solid solution with composition x of 0.24, exhibiting both high-depolarization temperature T d of 182 °C, of 156 pC/N, d 33 of 130 pC/N, will be favorable for high-temperature actuator and sensor applications.