Effect of processing temperature on structural and electrical properties of lead-free K_0.5Bi_0.5TiO₃ piezoelectric ceramics synthesized by sol-gel technique

In this paper, potassium bismuth titanate (KBT) ceramics were prepared by sol-gel technique. The structural and electrical properties were investigated at different calcination and sintering temperatures. The single phase tetragonal structure was confirmed by X-ray diffraction pattern using Rietveld refinement. Raman analysis revealed changes in scattering mode of KBT ceramics with rise in processing temperature. Dielectric characterizations have been performed as a function of temperature. The ferroelectric nature of KBT ceramics is studied by automatic P-E loop tracer which reveals saturation polarization leading to a superior ferroelectric behavior. The values of d₃₃ charge coefficients observed at different sintering temperatures were 224, 245 and 276 pC/N.