Abstract

Bismuth layer-structured ferroelectrics with high Curie temperatures have recently attracted significant attention as promising candidates for high-temperature piezoelectric applications. However, the conventional solid-state reaction method entails high-temperature processing that induces bismuth volatilization, thereby degrading device reliability. In this study, we employed a co-precipitation method enabling atomic-level mixing to significantly lower the synthesis temperature of Nb/Tadoped Bi₄Ti₃O₁₂ ceramics compared to the solid-state reaction method. Experimental results demonstrated that the coprecipitation method yielded a pure single phase at 600℃ without intermediate phases. Furthermore, the synthesized nanopowders, with an average size of 100 nm, lowered the onset temperature of sintering shrinkage to 650℃, approximately 200℃ lower than that of the solid-state counterpart. The low-temperature synthesis process proposed in this work is expected to contribute to the performance enhancement of high-temperature piezoelectric devices by effectively suppressing bismuth volatilization and ensuring compositional stability.

• Keywords: Bi₄Ti₃O₁₂, Co-precipitation, Solid-state reaction, Phase formation, High-temperature piezoelectric ceramics