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Research Article Issue
Analytical Relationship Between Electrostrictive Strain and Applied Electric Field in Relaxor Ferroelectrics
Journal of the Chinese Ceramic Society 2025, 53(4): 792-799
Published: 19 February 2025
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Introduction

With the development of science and technology, precision positioning technology becomes one of the key technologies driving the prosperity and development of modern science and advanced industrial technology in the 21st century. It is widely used in high-tech fields such as precision machining and aerospace. Among the core components of precision positioning technology, the micro-displacement actuator with a high positioning accuracy plays a critical role. However, conventional micro-displacement actuators suffer from several drawbacks, including long transmission chain, complex structure and low precision, which pose some challenges to precision positioning system. Electrostrictive effect has attracted considerable attention due to its advantageous properties, such as the absence of hysteresis and independence from the direction of the electric field. The relaxor ferroelectrics, which exhibit minimal hysteresis are commonly studied for their electrostrictive behavior. Although extensive research has been conducted on the large electrostrictive effect of materials, there is still no analytic expression to describe electrostrictive strains. In this paper, the electrostrictive strain of high-energy electron irradiated P(VDF-TrFE) 68/32 relaxor ferroelectric copolymers was measured as a function of applied electric field using a laser-assisted micro-displacement measurement setup. An analytic expression of electrostrictive strain as a function of applied electric field was derived based on the thermodynamic phenomenological theory.

Methods

An electrostrictive effect test platform was built, and the electrostrictive effect of high-energy electron irradiated P(VDF-TrFE) 68/32 relaxor ferroelectric copolymers was examined. The tested results were analyzed. The phenomenological theory was used to derive the analytic expression of electrostrictive strain as a function of applied electric field for relaxor ferroelectrics.

Results and discussion

The results reveal that the electrostrictive strain has a quadratic relationship with the electric field at lower electric fields. At higher electric fields, the relationship transitions to a power of 2/3, and at even higher electric fields, it further shifts to a power of 2/5. The electrostrictive strain as a function of electric field is analyzed for relaxor ferroelectric ceramics and polymers using this analytical expression. The fitting results confirmed the validity of this relationship across a wide range of electric fields. The strain and crossover electric field of the material can be designed in terms of the analytical expression of strain as a function of electric field.

Conclusions

The high-energy electron irradiated P(VDF-TrFE) relaxor ferroelectric polymers were prepared, and their electrostrictive strain as a function of electric field was determined. In addition, an analytical expression was also derived based on the thermodynamic phenomenological theory, which was used to fit the electrostrictive strain as a function of electric field for irradiated copolymers. The electrostrictive strain had a quadratic relationship with the electric field at lower electric fields. At higher electric fields, the relationship transitioned to a power of 2/3, and at even higher electric fields, it further shifted to a power of 2/5. These relationships were consistent with the experimental results. Furthermore, the expression was used to fit the electrostrictive strains versus electric field for relaxor ferroelectric ceramics and polymers, and it was procured that the expression could be applicable. Moreover, the transition electric field of the electrostrictive strain versus electric field was proportional to α3/2, and inversely proportional to β1/2.

Open Access Research Article Issue
Simultaneous achievement of large electrocaloric effect and ultra-wide operating temperature range in BaTiO3-based lead-free ceramic
Journal of Advanced Ceramics 2024, 13(8): 1234-1241
Published: 30 August 2024
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The electrocaloric effect (ECE), known for its environmentally friendly characteristics, holds significant promise for advancing next-generation solid-state refrigeration technologies. Achieving a large ECE along with a wide working temperature range near room temperature remains a key developmental goal. In this study, we successfully obtained a substantial ECE of 1.78 K and an extensive working temperature range of 103 K (ΔT > 1.52 K) near room temperature in CaZrO3-modified BaTiO3 lead-free ferroelectric ceramics. Furthermore, this achievement was verified using direct methods. The piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM) results suggest that the broad temperature range is attributed to the formation of ferroelectric microdomains and polar nanoregions (PNRs). Furthermore, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and ultraviolet‒visible (UV‒Vis) spectroscopy reveal a decrease in the oxygen vacancy concentration and an increase in the bandgap for higher CaZrO3 doping levels. These changes synergistically enhance the maximum applied electric field, helping to achieve a high-performance ECE near room temperature. This research presents a straightforward and effective approach for achieving high-performance ECEs in BaTiO3 lead-free ceramics, offering promising prospects for application in next-generation solid-state refrigeration technologies.

Open Access Research paper Issue
Significantly enhanced electrocaloric effect by composition modulation in lead-free BaTiO3-based ceramics
Journal of Materiomics 2025, 11(3)
Published: 22 June 2024
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The electrocaloric effect (ECE) offers a pathway to environmentally sustainable and easily miniaturized refrigeration technology, positioning it as a front-runner for the next generation of solid-state cooling solutions. This research unveils a remarkable ECE in a finely tuned (Ba0.86Ca0.14)0.98La0.02Ti0.92Sn0.08O3 ceramic, exhibiting a temperature shift (ΔT) of 1.6 K across more than 85% of the maximum ΔTTmax) and spanning an exceptionally wide operational range of 92 K. Our investigation on dielectric responses and ferroelectric polarization-electric field (PE) loops suggests that the broad operational scope results from the fragmentation of extended ferroelectric domains into smaller domains and polar nano-regions (PNRs) supported by PFM analysis. Furthermore, the introduction of La enhances spontaneous polarization by significantly extending the maximum electric field that can be applied, facilitating high-performance ECE at ambient temperature. This study positions BaTiO3-based lead-free ceramic as a sustainable alternative for addressing the cooling demands of modern electronic components, marking a significant stride toward next-generation solid-state refrigeration.

Open Access Research Article Issue
Field-driven merging of polarizations and enhanced electrocaloric effect in BaTiO3-based lead-free ceramics
Journal of Advanced Ceramics 2022, 11(11): 1777-1788
Published: 05 November 2022
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Solid-state cooling technology based on electrocaloric effect (ECE) has been advanced as an alternative to replace the vapour-compression approach to overcome the releasing of the global warming gases. However, the development in high ECE materials is still a challenge. In this work, polarization merging strategy was proposed to achieve a large ECE in xBa(Sn0.07Ti0.93)O3–(1−x)Ba(Hf0.1Ti0.9)O3 ferroelectric ceramics, where x = 0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8, and 1. Ba(Sn0.07Ti0.93)O3 with an orthorhombic phase and Ba(Hf0.1Ti0.9)O3 with a rhombohedral phase at room temperature were prepared beforehand as precursors, and phase-coexisted xBSnT–(1−x)BHfT ceramics were formed via a solid-state reaction approach. Phase coexisting structures were confirmed using the X-ray diffraction. The merged polarization was confirmed by the dielectric and ferroelectric properties. Optimal ECEs were obtained for 0.2BSnT–0.8BHfT ceramics, i.e., adiabatic temperature change ΔT = 2.16±0.08 K at 80 ℃ and 5 MV/m, and ΔT = 3.35±0.09 K at 80 ℃ and 7 MV/m.

Open Access Research Article Issue
Fabrication of intra porous PVDF fibers and their applications for heavy metal removal, oil absorption and piezoelectric sensors
Journal of Materiomics 2023, 9(1): 174-182
Published: 03 September 2022
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Intra porous fibrous membranes have enhanced metal ionic adsorption and oil separation abilities than those of intra nonporous fibrous membrane. In this paper, we prepared highly intra porous fibrous poly (vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) membranes using an innovated water-mediated electrospinning approach. FTIR-ATR and XRD techniques confirmed the conversion of non-polar α-phase to polar β-phase in electrospun membranes. The porous fibrous membrane M–16 had adsorbed oil almost 120% and metal adsorption around 15%, 12%, 5%, 13% respectively for Pb2+, Cd2+, Cu2+ and Zn2+, which are larger than the counterpart of nonporous M–18. The nonporous fibrous membranes have better peak to peak output voltage (Vp-Vp) 2 to 3 times than the porous fibrous membranes (M–16). The results show apparent potential applications in wastewater/oil spill treatment as well as piezoelectric sensors.

Open Access Research Article Issue
Enhanced electrocaloric effect at room temperature in Mn2+ doped lead-free (BaSr)TiO3 ceramics via a direct measurement
Journal of Advanced Ceramics 2021, 10(3): 482-492
Published: 15 April 2021
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(Ba1−xSrx)(MnyTi1−y)O3 (BSMT) ceramics with x = 35, 40 mol% and y = 0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, 0.5 mol% were prepared using a conventional solid-state reaction approach. The dielectric and ferroelectric properties were characterized using impedance analysis and polarization–electric field (PE) hysteresis loop measurements, respectively. The adiabatic temperature drop was directly measured using a thermocouple when the applied electric field was removed. The results indicate that high permittivity and low dielectric losses were obtained by doping 0.1–0.4 mol% of manganese ions in (BaSr)TiO3 (BST) specimens. A maximum electrocaloric effect (ECE) of 2.75 K in temperature change with electrocaloric strength of 0.55 K·(MV/m)–1 was directly obtained at ~21 ℃ and 50 kV/cm in Ba0.6Sr0.4Mn0.001Ti0.999O3 sample, offering a promising ECE material for practical refrigeration devices working at room temperature.

Open Access Research Article Issue
Enhancement of solvent uptake in porous PVDF nanofibers derived by a water-mediated electrospinning technique
Journal of Materiomics 2021, 7(2): 244-253
Published: 16 May 2020
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The effect of a N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF)/acetone solvent system (3:7, 4:6, 5:5, 6:4, 7:3) and spinning medium (air and water) on the membrane morphology and the structure-property relationship were investigated. A facile method was optimized to generate a porous, polymer-fiber membrane via the combinative effect of electrospinning and thermally inducing phase separation of the DMF/acetone (4:6) solvent system in a water medium. The attenuated total reflection (ATR) - Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) results showed an increased β-phase compared to the pristine poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF). The XRD and DSC results further confirmed that the co-existing α- and β-phases in the pristine PVDF were converted into a unique β-phase in the electrospun membranes. In addition, the solvent uptake percentage of the DMF/acetone (4:6) solvent system in a water medium (540) is much greater than that in an air medium (320), and over two times better than that of commercial polyethylene (PE) membranes (190). Similarly, the discharge capacity of the PVDF membrane separator prepared with the DMF/acetone (4:6) solvent system in a water medium is higher than that of the air medium. This enhancement of solvent uptake might be due to the interconnected porous morphology present in the water medium.

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