Enhanced energy storage performance via the synergistic effects of diffusion and liquid-phase sintering in eutectic mixtures

Abstract

Maximum polarization ($P_{\max }$) and electric breakdown strength ($E_{\text{b}}$) are two critical parameters that govern the recoverable energy storage density ($W_{\text{rec}}$) of antiferroelectric (AFE) dielectrics. However, these two parameters often exhibit a trade-off. In this work, we address this challenge by incorporating $\text{PbO}$-${\text{Pb}}_2{\text{WO}}_5$ (PP) eutectic mixture into $\left({\text{Pb}}_{0.9}{\text{Ba}}_{0.04}{\text{La}}_{0.04}\right)\left({\text{Zr}}_{0.65}{\text{Sn}}_{0.3}{\text{Ti}}_{0.05}\right){\text{O}}_3$ (PBLZST) AFE ceramics. The PP eutectic mixture enables liquid-phase sintering that reduces the average grain size, thus enhancing the $E_{\text{b}}$. Simultaneously, ${\text{W}}^{6+}$ ions partially diffuse into the grains, altering the tolerance factor and promoting $P_{\max }$. The diffusion of an appropriate amount of ${\text{W}}^{6+}$ also improves the relaxor characteristics, beneficial to energy storage efficiency ($\eta$). Consequently, the $E_{\text{b}}$ increases to 305 ${\text{kV}\bullet \text{cm}}^{-1}$ and the $P_{\max }$ increases to 47.2 ${\text{μC}\bullet \text{cm}}^{-2}$. Therefore, a high $W_{\text{rec}}$ of 6.73 $J\bullet {\text{cm}}^{-3}$ is achieved, representing a 75 % promotion. This work proposes a novel strategy to simultaneously enhance $P_{\max }$ and $E_{\text{b}}$.