Sintering and piezoelectric properties of lead-free (K0.38Na0.58Li0.04)(Nb0.86Ta0.10Sb0.04)O3 ceramics doped with Fe2O3

Lead-free (K0.38Na0.58Li0.04)(Nb0.86Ta0.10Sb0.04)O3 (KNLNTS) + x mol% Fe2O3 (x = 0 ∼ 1) ceramics were prepared by conventional solid state reaction technique. The effect of Fe2O3 doping on the phase structure, microstructure and electrical properties of KNLNTS ceramics were studied. The addition of Fe2O3 was found to be effective in enhancing densification of KNLNTS ceramics. When x = 0.3, the piezoelectric constant d33 and planar piezoelectric coupling coefficient kp reached highest while maintaining a relatively high Curie point of 318 deg. C; d33 = 257 pC/N and kp = 52 %, which suggests that the ceramics are promising for electromechanical transducer and actuator applications.