Structural investigation of Ca/Zr co-substituted BaTiO3 through XRD and Raman spectroscopy

The present work reports the synthesis of Lead free (Ba1-xCax)(ZryTi1-y)O3 with x = 0.13, y ≤ 0.15 (i.e. BCTZ) piezoceramics by semi-wet route and effect of additives viz., Ca2+, and Zr4+ on phase formation, microstructure, piezoelectric and electromechanical properties. Detailed structural analysis suggests the formation of tetragonal perovskite phase with P4mm symmetry, which was also confirmed by Rietveld refinement and Raman spectra. SEM micrographs showed that the average grain size decreased with Zr4+ which acts as grain growth inhibitor. Composition with x = 0.13 and y = 0.10 exhibited the optimum piezoelectric and electromechanical properties (d33 = 367 ± 2 pC/N and kp = .39 ± 0.01) and showed higher densification (relative density ∼ 98%).