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The structure of the ferroelectrics has been widely studied in order to pursuing the origin of high electromechanical responses. However, some experiments on structure of ferroelectrics have yielded different results. Here, we report that the controversial phase structure is due to the adaptive diffraction of nanodomains which hides the natural crystal structure, and the electric-field-induced phase transition is that the natural crystal structure reappears due to the coalescent nanodomains or ordering nanodomains by applying a high electric field. The temperature dependence of dielectric constant with different measurement frequencies and X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns of unpoled, poled, and annealing after poled ceramics in Bi0.5Na0.5TiO3-BaTiO3 (BNT-BT) ceramics authenticate the statement. These results provide a new insight into the origin of structural complexity in ferroelectric ceramics, which is related to the key role of nanodomains.


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A new insight into structural complexity in ferroelectric ceramics

Show Author's information Weidong ZENGaQingning LIaChangrong ZHOUa( )Jiwen XUaChanglai YUANaGuohua CHENa
School of Material Science and Engineering, Guilin University of Electronic Technology, Guilin 541004, China

Abstract

The structure of the ferroelectrics has been widely studied in order to pursuing the origin of high electromechanical responses. However, some experiments on structure of ferroelectrics have yielded different results. Here, we report that the controversial phase structure is due to the adaptive diffraction of nanodomains which hides the natural crystal structure, and the electric-field-induced phase transition is that the natural crystal structure reappears due to the coalescent nanodomains or ordering nanodomains by applying a high electric field. The temperature dependence of dielectric constant with different measurement frequencies and X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns of unpoled, poled, and annealing after poled ceramics in Bi0.5Na0.5TiO3-BaTiO3 (BNT-BT) ceramics authenticate the statement. These results provide a new insight into the origin of structural complexity in ferroelectric ceramics, which is related to the key role of nanodomains.

Keywords: ferroelectricity, crystal structure, phase transitions, adaptive diffraction

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Publication history

Received: 18 March 2017
Revised: 04 June 2017
Accepted: 09 June 2017
Published: 29 September 2017
Issue date: September 2017

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© The author(s) 2017

Acknowledgements

Part of this work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 61561015, 11564007, 61361007, and 11664006).

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