The effect of Mg2+/Nb5+ co-substitution at the B-site on the structures and electrical properties of modified Aurivillius ceramics, Bi4Ti3−x(Mg1/3Nb2/3)xO12, was investigated. Rietveld refinement suggested that Bi4Ti3−x(Mg1/3Nb2/3)xO12 crystallized in the orthorhombic space group B2cb at room temperature. A high remnant polarization of 15.5 μC cm−2, a large field-induced strain of 0.068% and a high piezoelectric activity of 30 pC N−1 were observed in Bi4Ti2.95(Mg1/3Nb2/3)0.05O12, with a Curie point of 685 °C, due to an enhancement in structural distortion and a reduction in leakage current.
This paper was originally published in Scripta Materialia, 75 (2014), Pages 70-73.
By mapping the structural features of a 2D ferroelectric material, researchers have revealed how domains in the material impact its behavior.