Structure and strain behavior of < 001 > textured BNT-based ceramics by template grain growth

< 001 > textured 0.72(Bi0.5Na0.5)TiO3-0.28SrTiO(3) ()lead-free piezoelectric ceramic was fabricated by template grain growth using plate-like SrTiO3 as a template. The templated growth of < 00 > oriented BNT-ST grains on the ST template resulted in textured ceramics with brick wall microstructures and a high degree of orientation of 82%. Relationships between microstructure and electric properties of the ceramics with different amount of template contents were investigated. The textured ceramics showed enhanced electric properties compared with the random counterparts and exhibited excellent piezo-electric performance with strain level of 0.39% at 70 kV/cm and normalized strain d(3)* (S-max/E-max) of 557 pm/V, revealing that the textured ceramics have tremendous potential for possible actuator applications. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.