Electrical Properties of Lead-Free (Bi 0.5 Na 0.5 )TiO 3 Piezoelectric Ceramics Induced by BNT Nanoparticles

(Bi 0.5 Na 0.5 )TiO 3 (BNT) ceramics have been successfully synthesized by a seed-induced method using nanometric BNT particles as seeds. The effect of the BNT seeds on the phase formation, microstructure, and electrical properties was examined. The results show that all the ceramic samples had perovskite phase. The density values lay in the range from 5.87 g/cm 3 to 5.93 g/cm 3 with relative density values of 97.95% to -98.96%. The highest dielectric constant ε r of 5138 at a maximum temperature of T m was obtained for the seed sample with x = 10 mol.%. The highest piezoelectric charge coefficient ( d 33 ) was 137 pC/N, and the piezoelectric voltage coefficient ( g 33 ) was 20.72 × 10 −3 Vm/N, being obtained for the seed samples with x = 4 mol.% and 8 mol.%, respectively. In addition, BNT seeds enhanced the energy storage density at room temperature. A high recoverable energy storage density W rec of ~ 0.078 J/cm 3 was achieved for the sample with x = 6 mol.%. These results suggest that BNT seeds enhanced the electrical properties of the BNT ceramic.