LAUSR

It is challenging for material chemists to develop lead-free ceramics due to the toxicity of lead for human health and environment. (Ba, Ca)(Ti, Zr)O3 and (Ba, Ca)(Ti, Sn)O3 lead-free piezoelectric ceramics have attracted much attention due to their superior piezoelectric properties. In this study, Ca2+, Zr4+ and Sn4+ were simultaneously doped at A-sites and B-sites, respectively, to clarify the structure and enhance the electrical performance. (Ba1−xCax)(Ti0.94Zr0.01Sn0.05)O3 (BCxTZS) lead-free piezoelectric ceramics were successfully fabricated by conventional solid-state reactive sintering method. The effects of Ca2+ content (x) and sintering temperature on microstructure, phase structure and electrical properties of BCxTZS were investigated. Herein, BCxTZS ceramics are the coexistence of R-O phases as 0.01 ≤ x ≤ 0.02, and they become O-T phases as 0.02 < x ≤ 0.08. The excellent electrical performances with d33 = 511 pC N−1, kp = 43% and Qm = 126 were achieved by optimizing the phase ratio and sintering temperature. The superior d33 along with the comparable Qm with PZT ceramics indicates that BCxTZS ceramics are promising lead-free piezoelectric ceramics.