Polymorphic Phase Transition and Piezoelectric Performance of BaTiO3-CaSnO3 Solid Solutions

BaTiO3-based piezoelectric ceramics have attracted considerable attention in recent years due to their tunable phase structures and good piezoelectric properties. In this work, the (1 − x)BaTiO3−xCaSnO3 (0.00 ≤ x ≤ 0.16, abbreviated as BT−xCS) solid solutions, were prepared by traditional solid-state reaction methods. The phase transitions, microstructure, dielectric, piezoelectric, and ferroelectric properties of BT-xCS have been investigated in detail. The coexistence of rhombohedral, orthorhombic, and tetragonal phases near room temperature, i.e., polymorphic phase transition (PPT), has been confirmed by X-ray diffraction and temperature-dependent dielectric measurements in the compositions range of 0.06 ≤ x ≤ 0.10. The multiphase coexistence near room temperature provides more spontaneous polarization vectors and facilitates the process of polarization rotation and extension by an external electric field, which is conducive to the enhancement of piezoelectric response. Remarkably, the composition of BT-0.08CS exhibits optimized piezoelectric properties with a piezoelectric coefficient d33 of 620 pC/N, electromechanical coupling factors kp of 58%, kt of 40%, and a piezoelectric strain coefficient d33* of 950 pm/V.

Semiconductor to Topological Insulator Transition Induced by Stress Propagation in Metal Dichalcogenides Core-Shell Lateral Heterostructures

Polymorphic phase transition is an important route for engineering the properties of two-dimensional materials. Heterostructure construction, on the other hand, not only allows the integration of different functionalities for device...

Effects of sintering temperature on structure and electrical properties of (Na0.48k0.473Li0.04Sr0.007)(Nb0.883Ta0.05Sb0.06Ti0.007)O3 piezoelectric ceramics

In this study, the effects of sintering temperature on microstructure, dielectric and piezoelectric properties are investigated for the non-stoichiometric (Na0.48K0.473Li0.04Sr0.007)(Nb0.883Ta0.05Sb0.06Ti0.007)O3 (NKLNTSST) piezoelectric ceramics. The results suggest that the piezoelectric properties are enhanced owing to the more normal ferroelectric characteristics, higher density, more uniform grains and presence of polymorphic phase transition regions, which are observed with an increase in the sintering temperature up to 1080?C. The piezoelectric properties are weakened owing to the larger degree of diffuse phase transition and more cationoxygen-vacancy pairs with an increase in the sintering temperature above 1080?C. The best piezoelectric properties including kp = 40%, d33 = 288 pC/N, ?max = 72.12, loss = 2.57%, Ec = 13.45 kV/cm and Pr = 10.23 ?C/cm2 are obtained at the sintering temperature of 1080?C.

Can We Predict the Pressure Induced Phase Transition of Urea? Application of Quantum Molecular Dynamics

Crystalline urea undergoes polymorphic phase transition induced by high pressure. Form I, which is the most stable form at normal conditions and Form IV, which is the most stable form at 3.10 GPa, not only crystallize in various crystal systems but also differ significantly in the unit cell dimensions. The aim of this study was to determine if it is possible to predict polymorphic phase transitions by optimizing Form I at high pressure and Form IV at low pressure. To achieve this aim, a large number of periodic density functional theory (DFT) calculations were performed using CASTEP. After geometry optimization of Form IV at 0 GPa Form I was obtained, performing energy minimization of Form I at high pressure did not result in Form IV. However, employing quantum molecular isothermal–isobaric (NPT) dynamics calculations enabled to accurately predict this high-pressure transformation. This study shows the potential of different approaches in predicting the polymorphic phase transition and points to the key factors that are necessary to achieve the success.