Hierarchical domain structures associated with oxygen octahedra tilting patterns in lead-free (Bi1/2Na1/2)TiO3. (12th February 2023)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Hu, Dongli; Fan, Zhongming; Sawyer, William; Henderson, Mitchell; Luo, Duan; Liu, Xiaoming; Gu, Hui; Tan, Xiaoli; Wen, Jianguo
• Is Part Of: Nanotechnology. Volume 34:Number 7(2023)
• Publication Date: 2023-02-12
• Subjects: lead-free piezoelectric materials -- domain structures -- transmission electron microscopy; Nanotechnology -- Periodicals; Nanotechnology -- Periodicals; Nanotechnology; Publications périodiques; Nanotechnologies; Periodicals; 620.5
• DOI: 10.1088/1361-6528/aca030
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0957-4484

Abstract

Abstract: Hierarchical domain structures associated with oxygen octahedra tilting patterns were observed in lead-free (Bi1/2 Na1/2 )TiO3 ceramics using aberration-corrected high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). Three types of domains are induced by distinct mechanisms: the 'orientation-domain' is induced at micrometer scale formed by different tilting orientations of the oxygen octahedra, the 'meso-chemical-domain' occurs at a few tens of nanometer scale by chemical composition variation on the A-site in the ABO3 perovskite structure, and the 'nano-cluster-region' runs across several unit-cells with apparent A-site cation segregation with oxygen vacancies clustering around Na cations. Based on HRTEM amplitude contrast imaging (ACI), the correlation between the oxygen octahedral tilting pattern and compositional non-stoichiometry was established. The role of the hierarchical domain structure associated with the tilting patterns of the oxygen octahedra on the ferroelectric behavior of (Bi1/2 Na1/2 )TiO3 is also discussed.