Effect of post-annealing on the electrical properties of textured Pb(Mg_1/3Nb_2/3)O₃–PbZrO₃–PbTiO₃ piezoelectric ceramics

Liquid phase sintering aids play an important role in facilitating grain growth and promoting texture formation. However, these sintering aids remain at grain boundaries after sintering, leading to a deterioration in the properties and hindering the reproducibility of textured ceramics. In this study, we employed the templated grain growth (TGG) method to synthesize [001]-textured Pb(Mg_1/3Nb_2/3)O₃–PbZrO₃–PbTiO₃ (PMN-PZT) piezoelectric ceramics, and implemented a crucial post-annealing step to remove the residual PbO. The effect of annealing temperatures on the microstructure, dielectric and piezoelectric properties of the textured ceramics was investigated. The results demonstrate the substantial influence of annealing temperature on these properties. Specifically, annealing at 800 °C led to a significant enhancement, with the ε_r at room temperature increasing from 2277 to 2410, and the k₃₃ improving from 0.85 to 0.88. Consequently, the d₃₃ increases from 1080 to 1220 pC/N. This study emphasizes the effectiveness of the post-annealing treatment in improving the properties and reproducibility of textured piezoelectric ceramics, which is particularly crucial for the mass production of textured ceramics.