Thermal depolarization and electromechanical hardening in Zn²⁺-doped Na1/2Bi1/2TiO3-BaTiO3

Na 1/2Bi 1/2TiO 3-based materials have been earmarked for one of the first large-volume applications of lead-free piezoceramics in high-power ultrasonics. Zn 2+-doping is demonstrated as a viable route to enhance the thermal depolarization temperature and electromechanically harden (1-y)Na 1/2Bi 1/2TiO 3-yBaTiO 3 (NBT100yBT) with a maximum achievable operating temperature of 150 °C and mechanical quality factor of 627 for 1 mole % Zn 2+-doped NBT6BT. Although quenching from sintering temperatures has been recently touted to enhance T F-R, with quenching the doped compositions featuring an additional increase in T F-R by 17 °C, it exhibits negligible effect on the electromechanical properties. The effect is rationalized considering the missing influence on conductivity and therefore, negligible changes in the defect chemistry upon quenching. High-resolution diffraction indicates that Zn 2+-doped samples favor the tetragonal phase with enhanced lattice distortion, further corroborated by 23Na Nuclear Magnetic Resonance investigations.