Quenching effects and mechanisms in bismuth-based perovskite ferroelectrics

The similar electronic structures of Bi3+ and Pb2+ have motivated researchers to explore bismuth-based perovskite compounds, which in the past decade has been further fuelled by the demand for developing lead-free piezoceramics. The difficulty in stabilizing the perovskite phase in bismuth based compounds has directed most research activities towards exploring two main compounds - multiferroic BiFeO3 and relaxor ferroelectric Na1/2Bi1/2TiO3 and their derivatives. In recent years, quenching these materials from the sintering temperature or from the paraelectric phase (above the Curie temperature, Tc) has resulted in a plethora of fundamentally interesting and technologically relevant advances, including enhanced thermal depolarization temperature, high Tc, giant strain and control over the atomic structure and electrical conductivity at the domain wall. In this contribution, a brief overview of quenching piezoceramics is presented, with majority of the discussion encompassing salient features of quenching lead-free perovskite structured Na1/2Bi1/2TiO3- and BiFeO3- based materials. For each material system, the influence of quenching on phase transitions, domain switching behavior and electromechanical properties are presented, apart from outlining the current understanding of the underlying mechanisms. The review provides guidelines for further exploration of the quenching strategy for improving the functionality of Bi-based piezoceramics.