Abstract
In this work, the effect of barium zirconate titanate (BZT) particle size on the dielectric properties and hysteresis behavior of 0-3 Barium zirconate titanate- Portland cement composites was investigated. BZT of various particle sizes (75, 212 and 425 μm) were used at 50% by volume to produce the 0-3 lead-free composites. The results showed that the dielectric constant at 1 kHz of composite was ≈ 350, while dielectric loss decreased with increasing particle size of BZT ceramics. It is clear from the hysteresis measurements that the particle size has a strong influence on the polarization-electric field loop of composites. The composite at 425 μm particle size was found to exhibit a more typical ferroelectric hysteresis loop.
Acknowledgments
The authors are grateful to members of staff at the Electroceramics Research Laboratory and Chiang Mai University for the research facilities made possible for this research work. The authors would like to express their gratitude for financial support from the Thailand Research Fund (TRF) through the Royal Golden Jubilee Ph.D. Program (Grant No. PHD/0042/2552) to Ruamporn Potong and Assistant Prof. Dr. Arnon Chaipanich is acknowledged. The authors would also like to express their gratitude for Research Grant awarded to Assistant Prof. Dr. Arnon Chaipanich by the Thailand Research Fund (TRF), the Commission on Higher Education (Thailand) and Chiang Mai University. The Graduate School of Chiang Mai University is also acknowledged. Authors would also like to acknowledge the support of INAMM/NSF (#0844081).