Improvements of microstructures and energy storage properties of Sr_0.8(Na_0.5Bi_0.5)_0.2TiO₃ ceramics via microwave sintering

The Sr_0.8(Na_0.5Bi_0.5)_0.2TiO₃ (SNBT) ceramics were prepared by different methods as conventional sintering (CS) and microwave sintering (MS), which showed different performance. The impact of MS method on the microstructure and energy storage properties of SNBT ceramics were investigated in this study. The MS SNBT ceramics showed smaller average grain size (G), homogeneous grain size distribution and denser microstructure. Compared with CS SNBT ceramics (1.7 μm), the G of MS SNBT ceramics was smaller (0.55 μm). The MS SNBT ceramics showed much improved energy storage properties over the CS SNBT ceramics. The higher breakdown strength (E_b) and energy density (J_d) of MS SNBT ceramic were 26.12 kV/mm and 2.28 J/cm³, respectively, which were higher than that (21.01 kV/mm of E_b, 1.48 J/cm³ of J_d) of CS SNBT ceramic, while energy storage efficiency (ƞ) of MS SNBT ceramic was 74.77%, which was higher than that (73.21%) of CS SNBT ceramic.