Novel Piezo-active 2–1–2 Composites with Sets of Large Hydrostatic Parameters

A 2–1–2 composite with two single-crystal components is studied for the first time to highlight large hydrostatic piezoelectric coefficients dh* and gh*, figure of merit dh*gh*, and electromechanical coupling factor kh*. Each 2–1–2 composite contains layers of domain-engineered [011]-poled relaxor-ferroelectric (1–x)Pb(Zn1/3Nb2/3)O3 – xPbTiO3 single crystal (x = 0.0475–0.09) and heterogeneous layers being systems of aligned piezoelectric Li2B4O7 single crystal rods in polyethylene, and these rods have an elliptic cylindrical shape. New diagrams show the volume-fraction ranges wherein large values of dh*> 10−9 C/N, dh*gh*> 2.10−10 Pa−1 and kh*≈ 0.5–0.6 are observed.