Estimating the true piezoelectric properties of BiFeO₃ from measurements on BiFeO₃-PVDF terpolymer composites

BiFeO₃ is an interesting multiferroic material with potential use in sensors and transducers. However, the high coercive field and low dielectric strength of this material make the poling process extremely difficult. Poling becomes a lot easier if the ceramic particles are incorporated in a non-conductive polymer with comparable...

Deterioration of the piezoelectric properties of (Bi_0.5Na_0.5)TiO₃ when using Na₂CO₃ as a sintering aid: A crystallographic and microstructural study

In this work, we present the impact of using Na₂CO₃ as a sintering aid and grain growth agent on the crystal structure, microstructure, and piezoelectric properties of (Bi_0.5Na_0.5)TiO₃ ceramics. The addition of Na₂CO₃ leads to a substantial increase in the grain size...

BiFeO₃ synthesis by conventional solid-state reaction

BiFeO₃ is a multiferroic material with the perovskite structure which is promising for use in sensors and transducers. Single phase production of BiFeO₃ remains a challenge, however. In this study, the optimal calcination temperature to obtain close to single phase powder was determined to be 750°C. The sintering...

Flexible, printed, Pb-free piezo-composites for haptic feedback systems

While most of the work on piezoelectric composites focuses on methods to reduce the dielectric constant of the composite (for better sensor and energy harvesting performance), for haptic feedback and actuator applications the opposite is desirable. We present here a study of the effect of adding a second ceramic phase (BaTiO3 nanoparticles)...

The effect of the intrinsic electrical matrix conductivity on the piezoelectric charge constant of piezoelectric composites

Polymer-piezoceramic composites have drawn a lot of attention for sensor and energy harvesting applications. Poling such materials can be difficult due to the electric field getting mostly distributed over the low dielectric constant matrix. During this process, the electrical matrix conductivity plays a vital role. This work shows how two...