Low-temperature sintering of PLSZT-based antiferroelectric ceramics in reducing atmosphere for energy storage

Due to their elevated sintering temperature, pure PLZST-based antiferroelectric ceramics are unsuitable for co-firing with copper internal electrodes as MLCC dielectric materials. In this work, PLZST ceramic materials sintered at low temperature in reducing atmosphere were obtained through a unique BASK glass additive and Y³⁺ co-doping. While the sintering temperature of ceramics is reduced to 1040 °C, stable defect association (Y_Pb^∙,Y_Zr^′) is formed by Y³⁺ solution entering A/B site, which effectively inhibits the increase of defect concentration and promotes ceramic sintering. The high breakdown strength of PLSZT ceramics is attributed to their compact grain and excellent insulation resistivity, which enhance their tolerance to electric fields. An ultrahigh recoverable energy density (W_rec) of 4.9 J/cm³ with a high energy storage efficiency (η) of 92.8% are achieved at an electric field of 400 kV/cm. Moreover, the AFE ceramics possess excellent discharge energy storage properties with a high discharge energy density (W_d) of 4.4 J/cm³ and a large power density (P_d) of 125 MW/cm³.