Enhanced energy storage properties and stability of Sr(Sc_0.5Nb_0.5)O₃ modified 0.65BaTiO₃-0.35Bi_0.5Na_0.5TiO₃ ceramics

With a view to the rapid development of pulsed power capacitors, the demands for higher energy density, energy efficiency, and stability have increased significantly. A large amount of research has been devoted to the energy storage field of dielectric ceramics, however, scientific and effective strategy to design novel materials with excellent energy storage performance is still lacking. In this work, a new guideline was proposed that higher energy density and efficiency are easier obtained in crossover relaxor ferroelectrics, which is between normal ferroelectrics and relaxor ferroelectrics. Based on this theory, a series of lead-free (1-x)(0.65BaTiO₃-0.35Bi_0.5Na_0.5TiO₃)-xSr(Sc_0.5Nb_0.5)O₃ ((1-x)BBNT-xSSN, x = 0, 0.05, 0.10, 0.15, 0.20) ceramics are designed and investigated. Optimal energy storage properties are achieved in 0.9BBNT-0.1SSN ceramic, with a large W_rec of 2.02 J/cm³ and a high η of 90.18% under a moderate electric field of 206 kV/cm. More importantly, both the W_rec and η of 0.9BBNT-0.1SSN ceramic show outstanding stability (including frequency, thermal, and cycle life stability) at 150 kV/cm, which is superior to other lead-free ceramics. These results demonstrate 0.9BBNT-0.1SSN ceramic is a promising candidate for practical energy storage applications.