Low Temperature Sintering Of Lead-Free Bi-0.5(Na0.82k0.18)(0.5)Tio3 Piezoelectric Ceramics By Co-Doping With Cuo And Nb2o5

Effect of excess CuO additive on the sintering behavior and piezoelectric properties of Bi-0.5(Na82K0.18)(0.5)TiO3 ceramics was investigated. The addition of small amount of excess CuO as low as 1 mol% was quite effective to lower the sintering temperature (T-s) of BNKT ceramics down to 975 degrees C while their piezoelectric properties were degraded by Cu doping. However, the electric field-induced strain was markedly enhanced by further addition of Nb2O5 with CuO without elevating T-s. The normalized strain S-max/E-max of 427 pm/V was obtained with a specimen sintered with 0.02 mol CuO and 0.03 mol Nb2O5 in excess. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd and Techna Group S.r.l. All rights reserved.