TY - JOUR

T1 - Concentration-driving pinning effect in lead-free Mn-substituted BCZT ferroelectric ceramics

AU - Wang, Wen

AU - Ma, Yangbin

AU - Jing, Ruiyi

AU - Shi, Wenjing

AU - Shur, Vladimir

AU - Wei, Xiaoyong

AU - Jin, Li

N1 - This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 52261135548) and the Key Research and Development Program of Shaanxi (Program No. 2022KWZ-22). The research was made possible by Russian Science Foundation (Project No. 23-42-00116). The equipment of the Ural Center for Shared Use “Modern nanotechnology” Ural Federal University (Reg. No. 2968) which is supported by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education RF (Project No. 075-15-2021-677) was used. The SEM work was done at International Center for Dielectric Research (ICDR), Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China.

PY - 2023/10/1

Y1 - 2023/10/1

N2 - Domain wall motion in ferroelectrics, closely related to electric characteristics and amenable to tuning through doping, remains incompletely understood, particularly with regard to the pinning defect in the (Ba0.85Ca0.15)(Zr0.1Ti0.9)O3 (BCZT) system, which has attracted significant interest. Here, we investigate the defect dipole-assisted pinning effect in Mn-substituted BCZT (abbreviated as BCZT-xMn) ceramics with Mn concentrations ranging from x = 0 to 0.04. As x increases, we observe a gradual decrease in the maximum permittivity, accompanied by a leftward shift in temperature, leading to a diffuse phase transition. Analysis of the dielectric spectrum reveals a consistent trend in the activation energy within a specific concentration range, suggesting the incorporation of oxygen vacancies to maintain electric neutrality. The resulting oxygen vacancies, combined with Mn dopants, form defect dipoles Mn4++e′− −Mn4++e′, attaining sufficient concentration at x = 0.02, and enabling precise establishment of the pinning effect. This phenomenon is extensively documented by the observation of pinched polarization-electric field loops and double current peaks in the current-electric field curves, visually corroborated by experimental data and a 3D phase-field simulation model. Consequently, this study not only elucidates the concentration-driven pinning effect in the BCZT system but also provides valuable insights into doping effects in other lead-free ferroelectrics.

AB - Domain wall motion in ferroelectrics, closely related to electric characteristics and amenable to tuning through doping, remains incompletely understood, particularly with regard to the pinning defect in the (Ba0.85Ca0.15)(Zr0.1Ti0.9)O3 (BCZT) system, which has attracted significant interest. Here, we investigate the defect dipole-assisted pinning effect in Mn-substituted BCZT (abbreviated as BCZT-xMn) ceramics with Mn concentrations ranging from x = 0 to 0.04. As x increases, we observe a gradual decrease in the maximum permittivity, accompanied by a leftward shift in temperature, leading to a diffuse phase transition. Analysis of the dielectric spectrum reveals a consistent trend in the activation energy within a specific concentration range, suggesting the incorporation of oxygen vacancies to maintain electric neutrality. The resulting oxygen vacancies, combined with Mn dopants, form defect dipoles Mn4++e′− −Mn4++e′, attaining sufficient concentration at x = 0.02, and enabling precise establishment of the pinning effect. This phenomenon is extensively documented by the observation of pinched polarization-electric field loops and double current peaks in the current-electric field curves, visually corroborated by experimental data and a 3D phase-field simulation model. Consequently, this study not only elucidates the concentration-driven pinning effect in the BCZT system but also provides valuable insights into doping effects in other lead-free ferroelectrics.

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U2 - 10.1016/j.ceramint.2023.08.044

DO - 10.1016/j.ceramint.2023.08.044

M3 - Article

VL - 49

SP - 33324

EP - 33332

JO - Ceramics International

JF - Ceramics International

SN - 0272-8842

IS - 20

ER -