Effect of solid content on the piezoelectric properties of porous (Ba0.85Ca0.15)(Zr0.1Ti0.9)O3 ceramics

The influence of the solid content of porous (Ba0.85Ca0.15)(Zr0.1Ti0.9)O3 (BCZT) ceramics on the pore morphology and mechanical and piezoelectric properties was systematically investigated. The results show that with an increase in solid content, porosity and pore size decreased, and ceramic connectivity increased, leading to an increase in compressive strength. The best ferroelectric performance was achieved with an Ec of 2.40 kV/cm2 and a Pr of 2.01 μC/cm2 at a solid content of 30 vol%. When the solid content increased, the relative dielectric constant and the piezoelectric constant increased, which affected the piezoelectric energy harvesting performance. At a solid content of 20 vol%, g33 and FOM33 reached maxima of 43 × 10−3 Vm/N and 6.7 p.m.2/N, which were 2.40 times and 1.8 times those of the other solid contents, respectively. This work provides new ideas for the design of porous piezoelectric ceramics and the improvement of their piezoelectric properties for future piezoelectric energy harvesting applications.