Abstract We used two different solid state synthesis routes in conjunction with Current Activated Pressure Assisted Densification (CAPAD) to produce lead-free 0.5Ba(Zr0.2Ti0.8)O3–0.5(Ba0.7Ca0.3)TiO3 (called BZT-BCT or BXT) ceramics. The materials are… Click to show full abstract
Abstract We used two different solid state synthesis routes in conjunction with Current Activated Pressure Assisted Densification (CAPAD) to produce lead-free 0.5Ba(Zr0.2Ti0.8)O3–0.5(Ba0.7Ca0.3)TiO3 (called BZT-BCT or BXT) ceramics. The materials are fully dense and have a wide range of grain sizes from nanocrystalline (90 nm) to more conventional micrometer size range (3 μm). We investigate the role of grain size and phase homogeneity on the dielectric and ferroelectric properties of BXT independent of porosity. One of the synthesis routes yields samples with comparably high switchable polarization, 2Pr at grain sizes ~7 times smaller (420 nm) than the former route.