Morphotropic Relaxor Boundary Construction Highly Boosts the Piezoelectric Properties of Bi-Based Lead-Free Thin Films

To achieve large electrostrain and low hysteresis, we further optimized a morphotropic phase boundary (MPB) by modulating its local polar symmetries. The construction of a morphotropic relaxor boundary (MRB) in thin films can be achieved by suitable introduction of Bi(Fe0.95Mn0.03Ti0.02)O3 into (Bi0.5Na0.5)TiO3–SrTiO3 to form a solid solution. The designed thin film achieves surprising piezoelectric properties with an inverse piezoelectric coefficient of 179.7 pm V–1 and negligible hysteresis. The composition of two relaxors with different local polar symmetries (tetragonal nanoregions and rhombohedral nanoregions), namely, an MRB, and the coexistence of multiscale domain structures can greatly weaken the anisotropy of polarization, degrade the energy barrier, attenuate the discontinuity of polarization, and achieve a large electrostrain and low hysteresis. The domain dynamics of the PNRs under the action of an external excitation field are analyzed to clarify the enhancement mechanism. This construction of MRBs is feasible for producing lead-free piezoelectric films with high-voltage electrical properties and low hysteresis, and various experimental design and theoretical references are provided.