Composition-driven (barium titanate based ceramics) pseudo-binary system for energy storage applications through ferroelectric studies

A composition-dependent structural, microstructure, ferroelectric, and energy storage performance of novel barium-based (1 − x)Ba(Zr0.1Ti0.9)O3 − x(Ba0.85Ca0.15)TiO3[(1 − x)BZT − xBCT] pseudo-binary systems with x = 0.0, 0.3, 0.5, 0.7 and 1 are investigated systematically. The barium zirconate titanate, BZT (x = 0.0), and barium calcium titanate, BCT (x = 1) ceramics exhibited a single-phase rhombohedral (R) and tetragonal (T) perovskite structure, respectively. The derivative of [(1 − x)BZT − xBCT] compositions with x = 0.3 enters into the orthorhombic phase (O), and the other two compositions with x = 0.5 and 0.7 compositions enter into the tetragonal phase. The surface morphologies reveal dense, uniform grain size varies from 2.59–12.05 μm with the addition of BCT to the BZT matrix. The presence of all the elements is confirmed using EDX analysis, and the existence of both Ti4+ and Ti3+ valence states in the Ti core level found in the sample. The maximum polarization is 15.06 μC/cm2 achieved for the x = 0.3 sample at 15.50 kV/cm applied field. The recoverable energy density (Wrec) and energy efficiency (η) are estimated to be nearly 167 mJ/cm3 and 42%, respectively. These outstanding characteristics of [(1 − x)BZT − xBCT] ceramics are ascribed to polymorphic phase boundaries, demonstrating their superior ferroelectric and optical properties. The present study may pave a new path in designing dielectric ceramics through intermixing MPBs for energy storage and multifunctional electro-optical devices.