Study on the piezoelectric behavior and structural changes of strontium doped PZT

Lead zirconate titanate, with Zr/Ti ratio of 53/47 was prepared by the polymeric precursor method. The powders were doped with 0.0, 0.2, 0.4 and 0.6 mol% of Sr²⁺ and the effects of Sr²⁺ additions on piezoelectric properties and on the phase constitution were investigated by XRD. The percentages of tetragonal and rhombohedral phases were calculated through Rietveld refinement. The results indicated that addition of Sr²⁺ ions in the amount of 0.4 mol% in the ceramic structure maximally increase the values of piezoelectric parameter to d₃₃ = 289 μC/N and K_p = 0.43. The values found for the piezoelectric properties were among the highest at the concentration of 0.4 mol% of strontium and this composition showed the highest structural change from the rhombohedral to the tetragonal phase perovskita. (author)