In situ TEM observation on the ferroelectric-antiferroelectric transition in Pb(Nb,Zr,Sn,Ti)O3/ZnO

File

2022-TanXiaoli-InsituTEM.pdf (5.45 MB)

Date

2022-02

Authors

Liu, Binzhi
Li, Ling
Zhang, Shan-Tao
Zhou, Lin

Publisher

Wiley and The American Ceramic Society

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Organizational Units

Materials Science and Engineering

Organizational Unit

Ames Laboratory

Organizational Unit

Department

Materials Science and EngineeringAmes Laboratory

Abstract

Ceramic composites of (1-x)Pb0.99{Nb0.02[(Zr0.57Sn0.43)0.937Ti0.063]0.98}O3 (PNZST)/xZnO were recently reported to exhibit exceptionally high pyroelectric coefficients near human body temperature due to the ferroelectric-antiferroelectric transition of the matrix grains. In the present work, a comparative study is conducted on two composites of x = 0.1 and 0.4 with in situ heating transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The results verify the presence of strain field in the PNZST grain adjacent to a ZnO particle and the stabilized ferroelectric phase at room temperature in the composite of x = 0.1. During heating, the ferroelectric matrix grain transforms to the antiferroelectric phase, contributing to the pyroelectric effect. In the composite of x = 0.4, high-angle annular dark-field imaging combined with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy reveal the existence of both ZnO and Zn2SnO4. The formation of Zn2SnO4 indicates that Sn in the PNZST matrix grain is selectively extracted, and decomposition of the perovskite phase has taken place. The decomposition products in the form of fine particles are observed to facilitate the nucleation of the antiferroelectric phase and restrict the motion of the phase boundary during heating. The larger amount of ZnO and Zn2SnO4 and the decomposition of the PNZST perovskite phase are suggested to be responsible for the much lower pyroelectric coefficient in the x = 0.4 composite.

Comments

This is the peer-reviewed version of the following article: Liu, Binzhi, Ling Li, Shan‐Tao Zhang, Lin Zhou, and Xiaoli Tan. "In situ TEM observation on the ferroelectric‐antiferroelectric transition in Pb (Nb, Zr, Sn, Ti) O3/ZnO." Journal of the American Ceramic Society 105, no. 2 (2022): 794-800, which has been published in final form at DOI: 10.1111/jace.18148. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving. Copyright 2021 The American Ceramic Society. Posted with permission.

Keywords

phase transition, pyroelectric effect, antiferroelectric ceramic composites, transmission electron microscopy