Phase evolution and relaxor to ferroelectric phase transition boosting ultrahigh electrostrains in (1-x)(Bi_(1/2)Na_(1/2))TiO_(3)-x(Bi_(1/2)K_(1/2))TiO_(3) solid solutions

Owing to the complex composition architecture of these solid solutions,some fundamental issues of the classical(1-x)(Bi_(1/2)Na_(1/2))TiO_(3) -x(Bi_(1/2)K_(1/2))TiO_(3)(BNT-xBKT)binary system,such as details of phase evolution and optimal Na/K ratio associated with the highest strain responses,remain unresolved.In this work,we systematically investigated the phase evolution of the BNT-xBKT binary solid solution with x ranging from 0.12 to 0.24 using not only routine X-ray diffraction and weak-signal dielectric characterization,but also temperature-dependent polarization versus electric field(P-E)and current versus electric field(I-E)curves.Our results indicate an optimal Na/K ratio of 81/19 based on high-field polarization and elec-trostrain characterizations.As the temperature increased above 100?C,the x¼0.19 composition pro-duces ultrahigh electrostrains(>0.5%)with high thermal stability.The ultrahigh and stable electrostrains were primarily due to the combined effect of electric-field-induced relaxor-to-ferroelectric phase tran-sition and ferroelectric-to-relaxor diffuse phase transition during heating.More specifically,we revealed the relationship between phase evolution and electrostrain responses based on the characteristic tem-peratures determined by both weak-field dielectric and high-field ferroelectric/electromechanical property characterizations.This work not only clarifies the phase evolution in BNT-xBKT binary solid solution,but also paves the way for future strain enhancement through doping strategies.

Enhanced antiferroelectric-like relaxor ferroelectric characteristic boosting energy storage performance of(Bi_(0.5)Na_(0.5))TiO_(3)-based ceramics via defect engineering

3Lead-free(BiasNaus)TiO_(3)(BNT)-based relaxor ferroelectric(RFE)ceramics have attracted a lot of atten-tion due to their high power density and rapid charge-discharge apabilities,as well as their potential application in pulse power capacitors.However,because of the desire for smaller electronic devices,their energy storage performance(ESP)should be enhanced even further.We describe a defect engineering strategy for enhancing the antiferroelectric-like RFE feature of BNT-based ceramics by unequal substi-tution of rare-earth La^(3+)in this paper.The ESP of La^(3+)-doped samples is raised by 25%with the same synthetic procedure and thidkness,due to an inrease in the critical electric field(E-field)and saturated E-field during polarization response,which is induced by a modifiation in the energy barrier between the lattice torsion.More impressively,an ultrahigh recoverable energy storage density Wrec of 8.58J/cm^(3)and a high energy storage efficiengyηof 945%are simultaneously attained in 3 at.%La^(3+)-substituted 0.6(Bi_(0.5)Na_(0.4)K_(0.1))_(1-1.5x)La_(x)TiO_(3)-0.4[2/3SrTiO_(3)-1/3Bi(Mg_(2/3)Ni_(1/3))O_(3)]RFE ceamics with good temperatue stability(W_(rec)=4.6±0.2 J/cm^(3)and higher n of 290%from 30℃to 120℃),frequency stability,and fatigue resistance.The significant inrease in ESP achieved through defect engineering not only proves the effectiveness of our strategy,but also presents a novel dielectric material with potential applications in pulse power apacitors.