Enhanced piezoelectric properties of textured BCTS ceramics assisted with ZnO and Li2O

BaTiO 3 -based piezoelectric ceramics have emerged as highly promising candidates for various applications, due to their excellent piezoelectricity. In this work, the [001] C textured Ba 0.97 Ca 0.03 Ti 0.96 Sn 0.04 O 3 piezoelectric ceramics were synthesized using the templated grain growth (TGG) method with the assistance of ZnO and Li 2 O. The effects of ZnO and Li 2 O on microstructure evolution, phase structure, texture development and piezoelectric properties were investigated systematically. Both ZnO and Li 2 O exhibit a pronounced promoting effect on oriented BCTS grain growth, enabling the achievement of a high texture degree F 001 of 98% at a relatively low sintering temperature of 1325 °C. The highly textured BCTS ceramics with Li 2 O exhibit to a substantial enhancement in piezoelectric performance: maximum strain S m , the piezoelectric coefficient d 33 and the figure of merit d 33 · g 33 reach 0.25%, 576 pC/N and 28.7 × 10⁻¹ ² m²/N, respectively. The highly preferred [001] C orientation, coexistence of O + T phases, and optimized ferroelectric domain structure synergistically contribute to the significant piezoelectric property enhancement. These results demonstrate the great potential of environmentally friendly textured BCTS-based ceramics for applications in piezo-sensors and energy harvesters.