The effects of Nb doping on the crystal structure, microstructure, and dielectric ferroelectric and piezoelectric properties of (Bi0.5Na0.5)0.935Ba0.065Ti(1-x)NbxO3-0.01SrZrO3 (BNBTNb-SZ, with x = 0, 0.01 and 0.02) ceramics have been investigated. X-ray diffraction patterns revealed that all ceramics have a pure perovskite structure with tetragonal symmetry. The grain size of the ceramics slightly decreased and a change in grain morphology from square to spherical shape was observed in the Nb-doped samples. The maximum dielectric constant temperature (Tm) increases with increasing amount of Nb; however, ferroelectric-relaxor transition temperature (TF-R) and maximum dielectric constant (εm) values decrease gradually. Nb addition disrupted the polarization hysteresis loops of the BNBT-SZ ceramics by leading a reduction in the remnant polarization coercive field and piezoelectric constant.

• Adnan Maqbool(School of Advanced Materials Engineering, Changwon National University)
• Ali Hussain(School of Advanced Materials Engineering, Changwon National University)
• Rizwan Ahmed Malik(School of Advanced Materials Engineering, Changwon National University)
• Arif Zaman(School of Advanced Materials Engineering, Changwon National University)
• Tae Kwon Song(School of Advanced Materials Engineering, Changwon National University)
• Won-Jeong Kim(Department of Physics, Changwon National University)
• Myong-Ho Kim(School of Advanced Materials Engineering, Changwon National University) Corresponding author