Ba _0.9 Ca _0.1 TiO ₃ : microwave-assisted hydrothermal synthesis and piezoelectric properties

This communication reports the microwave-assisted hydrothermal synthesis of the x = 0.1 member of the solid solution Ba1–xCaxTiO3 (BCT) materials, its structural and microstructural characterisation and the piezoelectric properties. Using this novel – ‘fast chemistry’ – synthetic procedure, this material can be obtained in much shorter periods of time in comparison with conventional solid-state methodologies: just a few minutes instead of days. Under microwave irradiation in aqueous basic solutions, the material produced is a polycrystalline and nanosized powder which was processed as a ceramic disc in order to measure piezoelectric properties. A maximum d33 value of 118 pC/N is obtained for this sample with a poling electric field of 1.5 KV mm−1, a value similar to those reported for conventionally made BCT materials.