New potassium-sodium niobate ceramics with a giant d33.

For potassium-sodium niobate, poor piezoelectric properties always perplex most researchers, and then it becomes important to attain a giant piezoelectricity. Here we reported a giant piezoelectric constant in (1-x)(K0.48Na0.52)(Nb0.95Sb0.05)O3-xBi0.5Ag0.5ZrO3 lead-free ceramics. The rhombohedral-tetragonal phase boundary was shown in the ceramics with 0.04<x≤0.05, and then the ceramic with x=0.0425 possesses a giant d33 of ∼490 pC/N. We also discussed the physical mechanisms of enhanced piezoelectricity. As a result, such a research can benefit the sustainable development of (K,Na)NbO3 materials.