Engineering topics

Sheeraz, Muhammad

Publications and source records attributed to Sheeraz, Muhammad.

2 records

DOE OSTI2022

High Strain Response and Dielectric Properties of Bi 1/2 (Na 0.78 K 0.22 ) 1/2 TiO 3 Ceramics Doped with (Fe 1/2 Nb 1/2 ) 4+

Environmentally friendly piezoceramics Bi 1/2 (Na 0.78 K 0.22 ) 1/2 Ti 1-x (Fe 1/2 Nb 1/2 ) x O 3 (BNKT-FN) with FeNb (FN) ratios 0, 0.01, 0.02, 0.03 and 0.04 were synthesized via conventional solid-state reaction (CSSR). X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis revealed that the FN complexes were completely dissolved in BNKT perovskite and the structural transition occurred from ferroelectric to relaxor state. The average grain sizes for x = 0, 0.01, 0.02, 0.03 and 0.04 were found to be 0.34 μm, 0.35 μm, 0.38 μm, 0.32 μm and 0.39 μm, respectively. It is observed that the grain size increased with the addition of FN, except for x = 0.03. Here, the coercive field (E c ) and remnant polarization (P r ) of the system were decreased with increasing FN concentration and the highest E c of 21.1 kV/cm and P r of 29.2 μC/cm 2 were noted for the base pure sample. In addition, the increase of FN content steadily broadened the dielectric anomaly at maximum dielectric constant temperature (T m ) in the BNKT-FN system. Consequently, unipolar normalized strain (S max /E max ) was found to be enhanced monotonically achieving the highest value of around 654 pm/V (x = 0.02). These properties suggest that the investigated system could be a promising eco-friendly candidate for piezoelectric actuators and many other applications requiring high piezoelectric induced strain.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗

DOE OSTI2020

Constructing Polymorphic Nanodomains in BaTiO 3 Films via Epitaxial Symmetry Engineering

Ferroelectric materials owning a polymorphic nanodomain structure usually exhibit colossal susceptibilities to external mechanical, electrical, and thermal stimuli, thus holding huge potential for relevant applications. Despite the success of traditional strategies by means of complex composition design, alternative simple methods such as strain engineering have been intensively sought to achieve a polymorphic nanodomain state in lead-free, simple-composition ferroelectric oxides in recent years. Here, a nanodomain configuration with morphed structural phases is realized in an epitaxial BaTiO3 film grown on a (111)-oriented SrTiO3 substrate. Using a combination of experimental and theoretical approaches, it is revealed that a threefold rotational symmetry element enforced by the epitaxial constraint along the [111] direction of BaTiO3 introduces considerable instability among intrinsic tetragonal, orthorhombic, and rhombohedral phases. Such phase degeneracy induces ultrafine ferroelectric nanodomains (1-10 nm) with low-angle domain walls, which exhibit significantly enhanced dielectric and piezoelectric responses compared to the (001)-oriented BaTiO3 film with uniaxial ferroelectricity. Therefore, the finding highlights the important role of epitaxial symmetry in domain engineering of oxide ferroelectrics and facilitates the development of dielectric capacitors and piezoelectric devices.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗