Enhanced piezoelectricity in (1 -x)Bi1.05Fe1-yAyO3-xBaTiO3 lead-free ceramics: site engineering and wide phase boundary region.

Site engineering has been employed to modulate the piezoelectric activity of high temperature (1 -x)Bi1.05Fe1-yScyO3-xBaTiO3 lead-free ceramics fabricated by a conventional solid-state method together with a quenching technique. The effects of x and y content on the phase structure, microstructure, and electrical properties have been investigated in detail. A wide rhombohedral (R) to pseudo-cubic (C) phase boundary was formed in the ceramics with x = 0.30 and 0 ≤y≤ 0.07, thus leading to enhanced piezoelectricity (d33 = 120-180 pC N(-1)), ferroelectricity (Pr = 19-22 μC cm(-2)) and a high Curie temperature (TC = 478-520 °C). In addition, the influence of different element substitutions for Fe(3+) on phase structure and electrical behavior was also investigated. Improved piezoelectricity (d33 = 160-180 pC N(-1)) and saturated P-E loops can be simultaneously achieved in the ceramics with A = Sc, Ga, and Al due to the R-C phase boundary. As a result, site engineering may be an efficient way to modulate the piezoelectricity of BiFeO3-BaTiO3 lead-free ceramics.