Piezoelectric and dielectric properties of cerium-modified Aurivillius type K0.5La0.5Bi4Ti4O15 ceramics

The Aurivillius type potassium lanthanum bismuth titanate (K0.5La0.5Bi4Ti4O15, KLBT) polycrystalline ceramics with 0.0–1.0 wt.% CeO2 were synthesized using conventional solid-state processing. X-ray diffraction analysis revealed that the cerium-modified KLBT ceramics have a pure four-layer Aurivillius type structure. The effects of cerium oxide on the piezoelectric, ferroelectric and dielectric properties on the KLBT ceramics were investigated. By the cerium modification, the piezoelectric activities of KLBT ceramics were significantly improved and the dielectric loss decreased. The piezoelectric coefficient d33 for the 0.50 wt.% CeO2-modified KLBT was found to be 28 pC N−1, the highest value among the modified KLBT-based piezoceramics. The reason for piezoelectric activities enhancement with Ce modification was given. The dielectric spectroscopy presented that the Curie temperature for all the KLBT ceramics is higher than 400 °C.