Structural, Dielectric and Ferroelectric Properties of Lanthanum Doped PZT(52/48) Electroceramics

Abstract Technological advancement depends on the investigation of new materials and compositions that show a strong interaction between ferroelectric and piezoelectric capabilities. It has been demonstrated that lanthanum (La) doping improves lead zirconate titanate (PZT) ceramic performance in a number of ways. The conventional sol-gel process was used to produce a ceramic material with the composition (Pb₀.₉₂₅La₀.₀₇₅)(Zr₀.₅₂Ti₀.₄₈)O₃ in order to examine the impact of La inclusion on its ferroelectric and dielectric behaviour. The development of a pure perovskite phase with a tetragonal structure, devoid of any unwanted pyrochlore phase, was verified by X-ray diffraction (XRD). Thermogravimetric and differential thermal analyses (TGA/DTA) of the precursor gel indicated weight changes and thermal events associated with phase formation at elevated temperatures. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed uniformly distributed grains with an average size of approximately 300 nm in the sintered samples. Complex impedance spectroscopy (CIS) was used to assess the electrical characteristics at temperatures ranging from ambient temperature to 600°C and frequencies between 100 Hz and 1 MHz. The relative permittivity and dielectric loss both rose with frequency, according to the results, peaking at about 27,780 at 600°C. Based on the Arrhenius plot, the activation energy for DC conductivity was computed to be 0.169 eV. A coercive electric field (E c ) of 3.04 kV/cm and a remnant polarization (P r ) of 6.12 µC/cm² were obtained from ferroelectric experiments performed at room temperature with an applied voltage of 4000 V.