Study on the microstructure of cement-based piezoelectric ceramic composites

In this paper, a study is presented on the microstructure of a cement-based PZT (Lead Zirconate Titanate) piezoelectric ceramic composite. A mechanism is proposed for chemical bonding between piezoelectric ceramic particles and cement material in the composite. The microstructure of the composite, as well as chemical bonding at the ceramic-cement interface is investigated using XRD, IR and XPS. Experimental results indicate that Ti-O in the ceramic particles links to Si-O in the cement paste via bridging oxygen, forming a Ti-O center dot center dot center dot Si-O bonding. And the change of chemical environment takes place for all of Ti, Si, Ca and Zr for cement-based piezoelectric ceramic composites. One prominent result pertaining to chemical reactions at the interface between ceramic particles and cement paste shows that Ti diffuses into the cement paste via Ti-O center dot center dot center dot Si-O bonding. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.