Enhancing the dielectric, electrocaloric and energy storage properties of lead-free Ba0.85Ca0.15Zr0.1Ti0.9O3 ceramics prepared via sol-gel process

International audienceThe Ba0.85Ca0.15Zr0.1Ti0.9O3 (BCZT) ceramics were successfully prepared by the sol-gel process and sintered at 1420 degrees C. The effect of sintering times (2, 4 and 6 h) on structural, microstructural, electric properties, energy storage, and electrocaloric effect was systematically examined. X-ray diffraction (XRD) results show that all the samples crystallize in the pure perovskite structure. The morphotropic phase transition from the tetragonal to the orthorhombic phase (T-O) was identified and confirmed by Rietveld refinement. The BCZT ceramic sintered at 1420 degrees C for 4 h possesses a good relative density of 98% and exhibits optimal properties with a high dielectric permittivity (epsilon(r,max)) similar to 16310, a large electrocaloric effect coefficient (xi) similar to 0.244Kmm/kV and a high energy storage efficiency of 63.65