High piezoelectricity and low strain hysteresis in PMN–PT-based piezoelectric ceramics

High piezoelectric properties and low strain hysteresis (H) are both equally necessary for practical applications in precisely controlled piezoelectric devices and systems. Unlike most of previous reports, where enhanced piezoelectric performance is typically accompanied by large hysteresis in lead-/lead-free-based ceramics, in this work, we report a reconstructed relaxor ferroelectric composition in 0.68Pb(Mg_1/3Nb_2/3)O₃–0.32PbTiO₃ (0.68PMN–0.32PT) ceramics through the introduction of (Bi_0.5Na_0.5)ZrO₃ (BNZ) to simultaneously achieve low strain hysteresis (~7.68%), superior piezoelectricity (~1040 pC·N⁻¹), and an electric field induced strain of 0.175%. Our work not only paves the way to simultaneously large piezoelectricity and negligible strain hysteresis in ceramic systems, but also lays the foundation for the further development of novel functional materials.