(Sb0.5Li0.5)TiO3-Doping Effect and Sintering Condition Tailoring in BaTiO3-Based Ceramics.

(1-x)(Ba0.75Sr0.1Bi0.1)(Ti0.9Zr0.1)O3-x(Sb0.5Li0.5)TiO3 (abbreviated as BSBiTZ-xSLT, x = 0.025, 0.05, 0.075, 0.1) ceramics were prepared via a conventional solid-state sintering method under different sintering temperatures. All BSBiTZ-xSLT ceramics have predominantly perovskite phase structures with the coexistence of tetragonal, rhombohedral and orthogonal phases, and present mainly spherical-like shaped grains relating to a liquid-phase sintering mechanism due to adding SLT and Bi2O3. By adjusting the sintering temperature, all compositions obtain the highest relative density and present densified micro-morphology, and doping SLT tends to promote the growth of grain size and the grain size distribution becomes nonuniform gradually. Due to the addition of heterovalent ions and SLT, typical relaxor ferroelectric characteristic is realized, dielectric performance stability is broadened to ~120 °C with variation less than 10%, and very long and slim hysteresis loops are obtained, which is especially beneficial for energy storage application. All samples show extremely fast discharge performance where the discharge time t0.9 (time for 90% discharge energy density) is less than 160 ns and the largest discharge current occurs at around 30 ns. The 1155 °C sintered BSBiTZ-0.025SLT ceramics exhibit rather large energy storage density, very high energy storage efficiency and excellent pulse charge-discharge performance, providing the possibility to develop novel BT-based dielectric ceramics for pulse energy storage applications.

Multifunctional Characteristics of BCTH:0.5% Sm3+ Ceramics Prepared via Hydrothermal Method and Powder Injection Molding.

Briefly, 0.005-mol Sm3+-doped (Ba0.85Ca0.15)(Ti0.9Hf0.1)O3 ([(Ba0.85Ca0.15)0.995Sm0.005](Ti0.9Hf0.1)O3, BCTH:0.005Sm3+) lead-free ceramics were prepared via hydrothermal method and powder injection molding using paraffin and oleic acid as binders, and the effects of preparation method and sintering conditions on microstructure, dielectric behavior and optical properties were investigated. XRD Rietveld refinement reveals the coexistence of orthogonal, rhombohedral and tetragonal phases, in which the crystal structure and phase fraction are influenced greatly by sintering temperature and holding time. The ceramics present enhanced relaxor behavior and frequency dispersion phenomenon as compared with those prepared by the solid-state sintering method, and the diffusive index γ value is within 1.421-1.673. The transition mechanism and luminescence performance of BCTH:0.005 Sm3+ were analyzed by Blasse formula, photoluminescence spectrum and fluorescence lifetimes, where emission peaks show slight blueshift, fluorescence decay lifetime becomes shorter, electric multipole interaction dominates the energy transfer mechanism, and the down-conversion luminescence is one-photon absorption process. The CIE chromaticity color coordinate (0.4746, 0.5048), correlated color temperature 3134 K and color purity 93.58% are achieved, which reveals that the BCTH:0.005 Sm3+ ceramics express high quality yellow emission rather than orange-red light of the hydrothermal method synthesized nano-powder, and have potential application in optical field.

Samarium-Doped Lead Magnesium Niobate-Lead Titanate Ceramics Fabricated by Sintering the Mixture of Two Different Crystalline Phases.

The fabrication method plays a key role in the performance of lead magnesium niobate-lead titanate-based ceramics. (1 - w)[Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)0.67Ti0.33O3]-w[Pb1-1.5xSmx(Mg1/3Nb2/3)yTi1-yO3] piezoelectric ceramics were prepared by sintering the mixture of two different crystalline phases in which two pre-sintered precursor powders were mixed and co-fired at designated ratios (w = 0.3, 0.4, 0.5, 0.6). The X-ray diffraction results show that all the ceramics presented a pure perovskite structure. The grains were closely packed and the average size was ~5.18 µm based on observations from scanning electron microscopy images, making the ceramics have a high density that is 97.8% of the theoretical one. The piezoelectric, dielectric, and ferroelectric properties of the ceramics were investigated systematically. It was found that the properties of the ceramics were significantly enhanced when compared to the ceramics fabricated using the conventional one-step approach. An outstanding piezoelectric coefficient d33 of 1103 pC/N and relative dielectric permittivity ε33/ε0 of 9154 was achieved for the ceramics with w = 0.5.

Low-Temperature Sintering of Bi(Ni0.5Ti0.5)O3-BiFeO3-Pb(Zr0.5Ti0.5)O3 Ceramics and Their Performance.

A low-temperature sintering strategy was realized for preparing 0.21Bi(Ni0.5Ti0.5)O3-0.05BiFeO3-0.74Pb(Zr0.5Ti0.5)O3 (0.21BNT-0.05BF-0.74PZT) ceramics by conventional ceramic processing by adding low melting point BiFeO3 and additional sintering aid LiBO2. Pure perovskite 0.21BNT-0.05BF-0.74PZT ceramics are prepared at relatively low sintering temperatures, and their structure presents tetragonal distortion that is affected slightly by the sintering temperature. The 1030 °C sintered samples have high densification accompanied by relatively large grains. All ceramics have excellent dielectric performance with a relatively high temperature of dielectric constant maximum, and present an apparent relaxation characteristic. A narrow sintering temperature range exists in the 0.21BNT-0.05BF-0.74PZT system, and the 1030 °C sintered 0.21BNT-0.05BF-0.74PZT ceramics exhibit overall excellent electrical performance. The high-temperature conductivity can be attributed to the oxygen vacancies' conduction produced by the evaporation of Pb and Bi during sintering revealed by energy dispersive X-ray measurement.

Fabrication of porous Ti3C2Tx MXene films by in situ foaming strategy for unparalleled high-rate energy storage.

MXene film electrodes for supercapacitors, assembled with MXene nanosheets as structure units, inevitably suffer from self-restacking, which severely restrains ion transport kinetics and results in insufficient active site utilization and poor rate capability. Herein, an in situ foaming strategy employing the accumulated gas generated during the etching of sacrificial templates, combined with the confinement between the MXene film, has been proposed to fabricate pores between stacked MXene sheets and along the vertical direction of the film. The surface chemistry of the foamed film was further modified by alkali washing treatment to replace hydrophobic -F groups with hydrophilic -OH groups to improve electrolyte penetration and introduce more active sites. The resultant porous MXene film electrode exhibits a greatly improved specific capacitance (354.1 F g-1 at 5 mV s-1) and unparalleled rate capability (with a capacitance retention of 96.1% at 2000 mV s-1). This work demonstrates a facile but efficient method for the construction of porous MXene films, simultaneously providing insights into the promising applications of MXenes.

Optimization hydrothermal synthesis conditions for nano-sized (Na0.5 Bi0.495 Nd0.005 )TiO3 particles by an orthogonal experiment and their luminescence performance.

By designing an orthogonal experiment with four factors and three levels, (Na0.5 Bi0.495 Nd0.005 )TiO3 (NBT-Nd) nanopowders were prepared using a hydrothermal method under different conditions to determine the optimum hydrothermal synthesis conditions. The synthesized NBT-Nd nanopowders were characterized using X-ray diffraction measurement, ultraviolet-visible spectra, photoluminescence spectra, and transmission electron microscopy to evaluate the orthogonal experimental conditions. The results showed that NBT-Nd powders with excellent crystalline and luminescence properties could be obtained at 160°C, with a 16 h reaction time, 8 mol·L-1 NaOH, and with 0.4489 g C19 H42 BrN. The optimized hydrothermal method-prepared NBT-Nd powder has a rather pure rhombohedral perovskite structure at room temperature, and exhibits an aggregated polycrystalline structure containing nanotubes and nano-sized particles. Under excitation of 247 nm light, strong fluorescence emissions are excited at 423 nm and 441 nm in the NBT-Nd powder that were generated by transitions of Nd3+ from 2 D5/2 to 4 I9/2 and from 4 G11/2 to 4 I9/2 , respectively. Through CIE1931 chromaticity calculation of the emission peaks, the NBT-Nd powder was shown to emit indigo blue fluorescent light.

A Two-Step Annealing Method to Enhance the Pyroelectric Properties of Mn:PIMNT Chips for Infrared Detectors.

Mn:0.15Pb(In1/2Nb1/2)O3-0.55Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3-0.30PbTiO3 (Mn:PIMNT) pyroelectric chips were prepared by a two-step annealing method. For the two steps, annealing temperatures dependence of microstructure, defects, surface stress, surface roughness, dielectric properties and pyroelectric properties were studied comprehensively. The controlling factors influencing the pyroelectric properties of the Mn:PIMNT crystals were analyzed and the optimum annealing temperature ranges for the two steps were determined: 600-700 °C for the first step and 500-600 °C for the second step. The pyroelectric properties of the thin Mn:PIMNT chips were significantly enhanced by the two-step annealing method via tuning oxygen vacancies and eliminating surface stress. Based on Mn:PIMNT pyroelectric chips annealed at the most favorable conditions (annealed at 600 °C for the first step and 500 °C for the second step), infrared detectors were prepared with specific detectivity D* = 1.63 × 109 cmHz1/2W-1, nearly three times higher than in commercial LiTaO3 detectors.

Analogous Anti-Ferroelectricity in Y2O3-Coated (Pb0.92Sr0.05La0.02)(Zr0.7Sn0.25Ti0.05)O3 Ceramics and Their Energy-Storage Performance.

Antiferroelectric analogous (Pb0.92Sr0.05La0.02)(Zr0.7Sn0.25Ti0.05)O3 (PSLZSnT) ceramics were prepared by the solid-state sintering method by introducing a Y2O3-coating via the self-combustion method. The synthesized Y2O3-doped PSLZSnT ceramics present pseudo-cubic structure and rather uniform microstructural morphology accompanied by relatively small grain size. Excellent energy-storage performance is obtained in the Y2O3-doped PSLZSnT ceramics, in which the value of the energy-storage density presents a linearly increasing trend within the electric field measurement range. Such excellent performance is considered as relating to the rather pure perovskite structure, high relative density accompanied by relatively small grain size, and the antiferroelectric-like polarization-electric field behavior.

Large Electrocaloric Effect in Lead-Free (Ba0.85Ca0.15)(Zr0.1Ti0.9)O3 Ceramics Prepared via Citrate Route.

The 1 wt % Li-doped (Ba0.85Ca0.15)(Zr0.1Ti0.9)O3 (BCZT-Li) ceramics prepared by the citrate method exhibit improved phase purity, densification and electrical properties, which provide prospective possibility to develop high-performance electrocaloric materials. The electrocaloric effect was evaluated by phenomenological method, and the BCZT-Li ceramics present large electrocaloric temperature change ∆T, especially large electrocaloric responsibility ξ = ∆Tmax/∆Emax, which can be comparable to the largest values reported in the lead-free piezoelectric ceramics. The excellent electrocaloric effect is considered as correlating with the coexistence of polymorphic ferroelectric phases, which are detected by the Raman spectroscopy. The large ξ value accompanied by decreased Curie temperature (around 73 °C) of the BCZT-Li ceramics prepared by the citrate method presents potential applications as the next-generation solid-state cooling devices.