Acceptor dopant mediated electrical property modification in Bi0.5Na0.5TiO3-based piezoceramic

Abstract

The effect of Mn and Fe dopants on the electromechanical and electrochemical properties of 0.88[Bi0.5Na0.5]TiO3-0.08[Bi0.5K0.5]TiO3-0.04[Bi0.5Li0.5]TiO3 piezoceramic is investigated with particular emphasis on complex impedance in the temperature range from 450 to 600 °C. The impedance spectra have been simulated with equivalent circuits in order to extract bulk and grain boundary characteristics and to determine activation energies of conduction. Mn and Fe dopants considerably enhance the mechanical quality factor and decrease the dielectric loss compared to the undoped composition. Mn doping leads to dramatically higher resistivity in the bulk and a modest increase in the bulk activation energy. On the other hand, conductivity increases dramatically via Fe doping with a significant lowering of activation energy in the bulk and corresponding raising of the activation energy at grain boundaries in comparison to Mn-doped and undoped ceramic. The bulk conductivity of Fe-doped piezoceramic reaches as high as 0.01 S cm-1 at 600 °C.