Development of lead-free powder composition for piezoelectric applications

Nowadays, Lead Zirconate Titanate (PZT)-based ceramics are widely used in sensors and transducers, due to their excellent electrical properties and high performance, making them a preferred choice in many applications. However, these ceramics pose significant environmental and health risks due to the lead they contain. As a result, there is ongoing research into lead-free alternatives that can replace PZT-based materials. Some of the special composions are bismuth sodium titanate (Bi0,5Na0,5TiO3) based ceramics, which show potential in actuator applications. Despite their promise, these ceramics cannot fully replicate the properties of PZT on their own. To overcome this limitation, binary and ternary systems are being developed by combining Bi0,5K0,5TiO3 (BKT) and BaTiO3(BT), with doping strategies used to enhance their properties. In this study, a ternary composition of 0.83(Bi0,5Na0,5TiO3) - 0.11(Bi0,5K0,5TiO3) - 0.06 (BaTiO3) was synthesized by incorporating BT into the BNT-BKT composition at the morphotropic phase boundary. Additionally, a 0.1 wt% manganese doping was applied to the composition, and the structural properties were analyzed using SEM and XRD techniques. The changes in the electrical properties of the material were also explored.