Effects of dwell time sintering on microstructure, Piezoelectric and mechanical properties of modified BNT-based ceramics

Abstract

© 2016 Trans Tech Publications, Switzerland. The properties of modified Bi0.5Na0.5TiO3(BNT) based lead-free ceramics were investigated. The BNT-based ceramics were prepared by a two-steps sintering method. The ceramics were sintered at T1=1373 K and T2= 1173 K for various dwell times (0, 2, 4, and 8h). The properties of the ceramics were characterized by many techniques. The ceramic samples exhibited a pure perovskite phase with rhombohedral symmetry. The microstructural analysis by a scanning electron microscopy (SEM), indicated that all ceramics had a similar microstructure. Piezoelectric and mechanical properties of the ceramics were improved at a suitable dwell time at T2.