Preparation and properties of porous PMN–PZT ceramics doped with strontium

The piezoelectric and dielectric properties of lead magnesium niobate–lead zirconate titanate (PMN–PZT) ceramics were investigated as a function of density for transducer applications. A decrease in density increased elastic compliance and improved acoustic impedance matching between PMN–PZT ceramics and ambient media. The reduced dielectric constant (ɛ33) and enhanced hydrostatic figure of merit (dhgh) of PMN–PZT were observed with decreased density. The results showed the dhgh of PMN–PZT ceramic with density of about 5.4 g/cm3 reached 4000 × 10−15 m2/N, and the ɛ33 was very close to 2000, which demonstrates that porous PMN–PZT ceramic is a promising material for transducer applications. Moreover, the low density PMN–PZT ceramics exhibited lower dielectric loss than high density PMN–PZT ceramics during the temperature from 250 °C to 500 °C.