Dual-enhancement of ferro-/piezoelectric and photoluminescent performance in Pr3+ doped (K0.5Na0.5)NbO3 lead-free ceramics

A mutual enhancement action between the ferro-/piezoelectric polarization and the photoluminescent performance of rare earth Pr3+ doped (K0.5Na0.5)NbO3 (KNN) lead-free ceramics is reported. After Pr3+ doping, the KNN ceramics exhibit the maximum enhancement of ∼1.2 times in the ferroelectric remanent polarization strength and ∼1.25 times in the piezoelectric coefficient d33, respectively. Furthermore, after undergoing a ferro-/piezoelectric polarization treatment, the maximum enhancement of ∼1.3 times in photoluminescence (PL) was observed in the poled 0.3% Pr3+ doped sample. After the trivalent Pr3+ unequivalently substituting the univalent (K0.5Na0.5)+, A-sites ionic vacancies will occur to maintain charge neutrality, which may reduce the inner stress and ease the domain wall motions, yielding to the enhancement in ferro-/piezoelectric performance. The polarization-induced enhancement in PL is attributed to the decrease of crystal symmetry abound the Pr3+ ions after polarization. The dual-enhancement of the ferro-/piezoelectric and photoluminescent performance makes the Pr3+ doped KNN ceramic hopeful for piezoelectric/luminescent multifunctional devices.