The mechanism for the enhanced piezoelectricity in multi-elements doped (K,Na)NbO<sub>3</sub> ceramics.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 33564001.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-021-21202-7 and PMC identifier 7873261.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
(K,Na)NbO<sub>3</sub> based ceramics are considered to be one of the most promising lead-free ferroelectrics replacing Pb(Zr,Ti)O<sub>3</sub>. Despite extensive studies over the last two decades, the mechanism for the enhanced piezoelectricity in multi-elements doped (K,Na)NbO<sub>3</sub> ceramics has not been fully understood. Here, we combine temperature-dependent synchrotron x-ray diffraction and property measurements, atomic-scale scanning transmission electron microscopy, and first-principle and phase-field calculations to establish the dopant-structure-property relationship for multi-elements doped (K,Na)NbO<sub>3</sub> ceramics. Our results indicate that the dopants induced tetragonal phase and the accompanying high-density nanoscale heterostructures with low-angle polar vectors are responsible for the high dielectric and piezoelectric properties. This work explains the mechanism of the high piezoelectricity recently achieved in (K,Na)NbO<sub>3</sub> ceramics and provides guidance for the design of high-performance ferroelectric ceramics, which is expected to benefit numerous functional materials.