Enhanced piezoelectric response of Aurivillius ferroelectrics by constructing a novel solid solution and combining traditional chemical substitution

With the increasing demand for high-temperature piezoelectric ceramics, excellent piezoelectricity and high Curie temperature are required simultaneously. Herein, combining the advantages of constructing new-type solid solutions and traditional A-site doping strategy, Aurivillius ferroelectrics (Na0.5Bi0.5)0.5−x/2(Li0.5Ce0.5)x/2Bi2.5Ti0.5Nb1.5O9 (NBTN-LC100x, x = 0–0.16) were designed to achieve the large piezoelectric response and high Curie temperature simultaneously. The existence of a pseudo-tetragonal phase boundary together with the reduction of domain size produces a large piezoelectric coefficient (d33 ∼ 24.6 pC/N) with a fairly high TC (∼825 °C). Moreover, pseudo-tetragonal distortion might be responsible for the excellent thermal stability of d33 against thermal depolarization temperature (Td). For NBTN-LC12, high-temperature electric resistivity is still above 1 × 105 Ω cm at 600 °C. The improved comprehensive properties of NBTN-LC100x ceramics demonstrate that the construction of a novel Aurivillius ferroelectrics is a promising way to explore high-temperature sensor materials.