High piezoelectric properties and domain configuration in BaTiO3ceramics obtained through the solid-state reaction route

BaTiO 3 ceramics with a high piezoelectric coefficient have been successfully obtained through the conventional solid-state reaction route starting from ordinary BaCO 3 and TiO 2 powders. The ceramics sintered at 1210 °C exhibit excellent piezoelectric properties of d 33 = 419 pC N −1 and k p = 0.453 with tan δ = 1.36% at room temperature. The crystallographic structure, the microstructure and the domain pattern were investigated. It has been revealed that d 33 increases and the average domain width in the poled BaTiO 3 ceramics remains approximately constant at around 240 nm with the decrease in the average grain size from 9.5 to 2.0 µm. From the analysis, we suggest that the largeness of the domain wall is an important factor, which significantly influences the piezoelectric properties.