Effect of substituents with different valences on antiferroelectric stability of antiferroelectric lead zirconate ceramics

The effect of lower valent substituents on the stability of the antiferroelectric phase of lead zirconate was studied by dielectric spectroscopy, Sawyer–Tower polarization methods, and electron diffraction techniques. The stability of an intermediate ferroelectric phase region was found to be enhanced with increasing lower valent substitution concentration. The influences of substituents of different ionic size and valence on the stabilization of the intermediate ferroelectric phase were differentiated. In general, lower valent substituents, such as K⁺ and Fe³⁺ affected antiferroelectric phase stability more significantly than higher valent ones.