Structural phase transition, relaxor behavior, and ultra-low strain hysteresis in BaTiO3 ceramics modified by BiYO3

Abstract In this study, the structural properties, phase transition, relaxor behavior, and strain properties of (1− x )BaTiO 3 ‒ x BiYO 3 ( x = 0.02‒0.15 mol) ceramics were investigated. The room temperature x-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy results reveal that (1− x )BaTiO 3 ‒ x BiYO 3 ceramics undergo phase transition from tetragonal to pseudo-cubic structure with x increasing. The curves of dielectric constant and loss tangent as a function of temperature and frequency show that the dielectric constant was changing from being dependent on temperature to being independent of it upon increasing BiYO 3 amount, which is induced obvious dielectric relaxation behavior. Slimmer polarization–electric field ( P – E ) loops and lower remnant polarization ( P r ) were observed for samples with x ⩾ 0.08. The transition between the ferroelectric and relaxor states leads to the narrow strain–electric field ( S–E ) loops, which exhibit a high electric field-induced strain of 0.192% and an ultra-low strain hysteresis of 10.4% at an electric field of 70 kV cm −1 for x = 0.04. This excellent performance indicates that 0.96BaTiO 3 ‒0.04BiYO 3 ceramic may be promising lead-free materials for high-precision displacement actuators applications.