High-performance Mn-doped BiScO₃–PbTiO₃ piezoelectric ceramics with enhanced thermal stability and electric field endurance

To address the demand for piezoelectric materials in extreme environments, this study systematically evaluates “hard” Mn-doped 34BiScO₃-66PbTiO₃ (BS-66PT-1Mn), “soft” Nb-doped 36BiScO₃-64PbTiO₃ (BS-64PT −0.125 Nb), and commercially available PZT-5A ceramics under high-temperature and high electric field conditions. The dielectric characterization reveals that BS-66PT-1Mn demonstrates good dielectric properties (ε_r = 3345) under coupled conditions of high temperature (300 °C) and strong electric field (100 V/mm). Notably, the dielectric loss of BS-66PT-1Mn (tanδ = 0.071) is substantially lower, demonstrating 2.5–4.5 times decrease compared to BS-64PT-0.125 Nb (tanδ = 0.19) and PZT-5A (tanδ =0.323). At 300 °C, the coercive field of BS-66PT-1Mn ceramics (12.2 kV/cm) exceeds BS-64PT-0.125 Nb and PZT-5A by 106 % and 353 %, and its direct-current resistivity is 8 and 1.5 times higher than their counterparts, which indicate that the BS-66PT-1Mn ceramics exhibit excellent electric field endurance and high electrical resistivity. Under 200 °C and 20 V/mm condition, BS-66PT-1Mn demonstrates superior vibration velocity (0.61 m/s) and reduced frequency shift (Δf/f_r = 2.4 %), outperforming both comparison materials. This phenomenon could be attributed to the Mn-doping induced oxygen vacancy pinning effect and tetragonal phase stabilization. The results indicate that BS-66PT-1Mn, with high-output vibrational performance, superior thermal stability, and excellent field endurance, holds significant potential for enhancing the operational reliability of acoustic transducers in harsh environments.