Synergistic low firing and high performance in lead‐free energy‐storage ceramics by transient liquid‐phase sintering

Abstract Synergistically achieving low‐firing temperature and high electrical performance persists as a challenge in lead‐free energy‐storage ceramics, which is enabled by a transient liquid‐phase sintering strategy in 0.9{0.87BaTiO 3 –0.13Bi[Zn 2/3 (Nb 0.85 Ta 0.15 ) 1/3 ]O 3 }–0.1CaZrO 3 ceramics modified by x wt% Bi 2 O 3 –ZnO–B 2 O 3 glass (0 ≤ x ≤ 1.5). Compared to the pristine x = 0 ceramic, high‐temperature dielectric and conduction loss are reduced by 17% and 36% for the x = 0.5 sample, respectively. At a severe condition of 175°C and 250 kV/cm DC superimposed with 50 kV/cm AC, the energy efficiency is 97%, over that of 95% for the x = 0 sample. Correspondingly, the firing temperature is lowered to 1150°C from 1200°C, which allows compatibility with cost‐effective 70Ag/30Pd electrodes. Lowest activation energy difference and highest activation energy for oxygen vacancy migration drawn from the respective high‐temperature impedance spectroscopy and thermally stimulated depolarization current reveal optimal electrical homogeneity in the x = 0.5 sample, which should be the modulating mechanism behind this strategy.