Sintering process directly affects the microstructure and properties of ceramics. BaTiO₃ piezoelectric ceramic was sintered by an ultrafast-high temperature sintering method. The result was compared with that of BaTiO₃ sintered by a conventional furnace sintering method. The effect of sintering current on the phase composition, microstructure and property of BaTiO₃ sintered in ultrafast-high temperature sintering method was investigated. Ultrafast-high temperature sintering suppresses the grain growth. After ultrafast sintering at 180 A for 5 min, the superior property with the dielectric constant of 3450, dielectric loss of 1.89% and piezoelectric constant 283 pC·N^–1 is obtained. The whole sintering time is reduced by 196 times, indicating that ultrafast-high temperature sintering is a promising densification method for functional materials.

Simultaneously employing light and vibration energy by piezoelectric material to realize environmental remediation is an advanced oxidation method. Silver niobate (AgNbO₃) is a visible light driven photocatalyst for the removal of organic pollutants. However, the high recombination rate of photo-generated electrons and holes suppresses its photocatalytic activity. Piezoelectric potential excited by vibration can facilitate the separation of light induced charges. Unfortunately, AgNbO₃ is an antiferroelectric. In this work, distinct photo-/vibration-bi-catalysis has been achieved in ferroelectric (1−x)AgNbO₃–xLiTaO₃ solid solution. The results show that ~96% Rhodamine B (RhB) can be decomposed under the bi-excitation of ultrasound and visible light within 120 min with 0.95AgNbO₃–0.05LiTaO₃ catalyst. The synergy effect from efficient visible light excitation and enhanced separation of the photo-induced charges from the electric field by the mechanical strain results in the distinct decomposition performance of catalysts.