Structure-Property Relationships of New Bismuth and Lead Oxide Based Perovskite Ternary Solid Solutions

Open Access
- Author:
- Dwivedi, Akansha
- Graduate Program:
- Materials Science and Engineering
- Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy
- Document Type:
- Dissertation
- Date of Defense:
- July 23, 2010
- Committee Members:
- Prof Clive A Randall, Dissertation Advisor/Co-Advisor
Clive A Randall, Committee Chair/Co-Chair
Susan E Trolier Mckinstry, Committee Member
Shujun Zhang, Committee Member
Leslie Eric Cross, Committee Member - Keywords:
- MPB
High temperature ferroelectrics
Perovskite
Ternary solid solution - Abstract:
- Two new bismuth and lead oxide based perovskite ternary solid solutions, namely xBi(Zn1/2Ti1/2)O3-yPbZrO3-zPbTiO3 [xBZT-yPZ-zPT] and xBi(Mg1/2Ti1/2)O3-yBi(Zn1/2Ti1/2)O3-zPbTiO3 [xBMT-yBZT-zPT] have been developed and their structural and electrical properties have been determined. Various characterization techniques such as X-ray diffraction, calorimetery, electron microscopy, dielectric and piezoelectric measurements have been performed to determine the details of the phase diagram, crystal structure, and domain structure. The selection of these materials is based on the hypothesis that the presence of BZT-PT (Case I ferroelectric (FE)) will increase the transition temperature of MPB systems BMT-PT (Case II FE), and PZ-PT (Case III FE), and subsequently a MPB will be observed in the ternary phase diagrams. The Case I, II, and III classification has been outlined by Stringer et al., is on the basis of the transition temperatures (TC) behavior with composition in the Bi and Pb oxide based binary systems. Several pseudobinary lines have been investigated across the xBZT-yPZ-zPT ternary phase diagram which exhibit varied TC behavior with composition, showing both Case I- and Case III-like TC trends in different regions. A MPB between rhombohedral to tetragonal phases has been located on a pseudobinary line 0.1BZT-0.9[xPT-(1-x)PZ]. Compositions near MPB exhibit mainly soft PZT-like properties with the TC around 60oC lower than the unmodified PZT near its MPB. Electrical properties are reported for the MPB composition, TC = 325oC, Pr = 35 μC/cm2, d33 = 300 pC/N and kP =0.45. Rhombohedral compositions show diffuse phase transition with small frequency dispersion, similar to relaxors. Two transition peaks in the permittivity as well as in the latent heat has been observed in some compositions near the BZT-PT binary. This leads to the speculation for the existence of miscibility gap in the solid solutions in these regions. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) performed on these compositions show subdomain modulation contrast suggesting the presence of localized and correlated spatial fluctuations in the spontaneous strain. In the xBMT-yBZT-zPT system, very small rhombohedral region in the room temperature phase diagram has been observed. Owing to the limited solid solubility, only a part of the phase diagram could be explored. Compositions on pseudobinary xPT-(1-x)[0.9BMT-0.1BZT] has been successfully fabricated and characterized. High c/a ratio of 1.04 has been observed for a surprisingly low tolerance factor of 0.9732. Transition temperature trends have been established from DSC and dielectric data along this pseudobinary line. The following trend in the TC has been observed with the increase in non PT end member that has been divided into three zones: in Zone I TC increases, in Zone II it decreases, and in the Zone III, two transition temperatures are observed. From the TEM investigation, it has been noted that these compositions exhibit subdomain modulations which reflects the presence of spontaneous strain. These modulations increase with the increase in non PT end member, and at certain composition along pseudobinary, both macro and micro domains structure can be observed. Compositions in the rhombohedral phase of xBMT-yBZT-zPT show dramatic changes in dielectric and piezoelectric properties when quenched from high temperature. Samples quenched from temperature range 650oC-900oC show classical ferroelectric switching behavior, which is not observed on either side of this temperature range. These quenched states are however, unstable in nature and lose their ferroelectric properties when heated to a temperature as low as 400oC. Structural analysis by TEM shows varied domain structures for samples quenched from different temperatures. Evidences of tilt transitions and intermediate phases have also been observed in the TEM study. New insights into solid solution development and defect metastability are gained and discussed in relation to relaxor based ferroelectric phenomena. Complex domains and intermediate displacive phase transitions are all considered to consistently account for the structure-property-process relations in these novel systems.