Relaxation behavior of PbZrO 3 ‐SrTiO 3 thin film for enhancing energy storage performances

Abstract In recent years, antiferroelectric materials have attracted significant attention as energy storage materials in pulsed power systems. In this study, (1‐x)PbZrO 3 ‐xSrTiO 3 (PZO‐STO) antiferroelectric films were prepared, and the effects of the STO content on the microstructure and energy storage performance of the thin films were investigated in detail. The results showed that when the PZO/STO ratio was near the morphotropic phase boundary, the long‐range PZO‐STO‐ordered structure could be broken by the paraelectric nanograins generated at the grain boundary. The number of nanoparticles increased gradually with an increase in the STO content, thereby leading to the microstructure transformation of the thin films from antiferroelectric to relaxation ferroelectric. When the STO content was 20%, the as‐prepared thin film had a maximum energy storage density of 15.26 J/cm 3 , which was 117.14% higher than that of the pure PZO thin film.