Zhengwei
Xiong‡
a,
Zhangyang
Zhou‡
b,
Yi
Liu‡
c,
Zhengqian
Fu
d,
Fangfang
Xu
d,
Leiming
Fang
e,
Xiaoru
Liu
a,
Jun
Li
c,
Ke
Jin
c and
Zhipeng
Gao
*ac
aJoint Laboratory for Extreme Conditions Matter Properties, School of Mathematics and Physics, Southwest University of Science and Technology, Mianyang 621010, China. E-mail: z.p.gao@foxmail.com
bCollege of Intelligent Systems Science and Engineering, Hubei Minzu University, Enshi, 445000, China
cInstitute of Fluid Physics, China Academy of Engineering Physics, Mianyang 621900, China
dState Key Laboratory of High Performance Ceramics and Superfine Microstructures, Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200050, China
eInstitute of Nuclear Physics and Chemistry, China Academy of Engineering Physics, Mianyang 621900, China
First published on 24th October 2024
Explosive-energy-conversion materials are increasingly utilized in energy, defense, and mining due to their ultra-rapid response, extra-long storage life, and enormous power density. The energy output capability and temperature stability determine the application potential of these materials. Herein, we report 0.25Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3–0.75Pb(Zr0.4Ti0.6)O3 + 0.2 wt% Li2CO3 (PMN–PZT + 2Li) multilayer films developed by cost-effective low-temperature sintering with ultrahigh output energy density and high temperature stability. The multilayer PMN–PZT + 2Li films with a volume of 0.9 cm3 could generate a current of 3156 A, exceeding that of existing ferroelectric ceramics by two orders of magnitude. The output energy density of the multilayer PMN–PZT + 2Li films is up to 3.059 J cm−3, which is the state-of-the-art value achieved so far. The temperature stability of PMN–PZT + 2Li with the energy output could be stable up to 213 °C, higher than those of most of the ferroelectrics. In situ high-pressure synchrotron X-ray diffraction revealed that the ultrahigh output energy was derived from polar rhombohedral phase (R3m) to non-polar phase (Rc) shock-induced phase transitions. These findings provide a paradigm of multilayer design for high performance explosive-energy-conversion devices.
To date, lead zirconate titanate (Pb(Zr0.95Ti0.05)O3, PZT 95/5) ceramics have been the most widely used in the explosive-energy-conversion, which is derived from the ferroelectric (polar) to antiferroelectric (non-polar) phase transformation under high pressures, exhibiting a high output charge density of 32 μC cm−2.7–10,16,17 In recent decades, the development of other ferroelectric ceramics has been one of the most active research topics. Significant progress has been made with materials such as BaTiO3 (BT), Bi0.5Na0.5TiO3 (BNT), BiFeO3 (BFO), and (K,Na)NbO3 (KNN)-based ceramics.3,12–15,18 Nevertheless, several drawbacks have hindered their continued development in the field of explosive-energy-conversion, such as the low Curie temperature of BT and BNT-based ceramics, the high leakage current of BFO-based ceramics, and the low remnant polarization (Pr) of KNN-based ceramics.3,12–15,18 With the development of pulsed power technology, higher requirements have been placed on the energy storage density and volume size of explosive-energy-conversion devices. Due to the limitations of the effective electrode areas and small Pr, bulk ferroelectric ceramics and single crystals show a limited number of surface-bound charges. Consequently, it is difficult for them to achieve an output current exceeding 50 A during the pressure-induced depolarization process.3,4,8–15 By employing the co-fired multilayer film technology, multilayer films could significantly expand the effective electrode area, resulting in a remarkable enhancement of energy storage density.7,19–21 It represents an effective technological solution for realizing the miniaturization of ferroelectric explosive-energy-conversion devices and increasing the output energy.
Among all these ferroelectric materials, xPb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3–(1 − x)Pb(Zr0.4Ti0.6)O3 doped with trace amounts of Li2CO3 exhibits a high Pr of 37.2 μC cm−2, a low sintering temperature, and high temperature stability, and shows great potential for designing high-energy miniaturized explosive-energy-conversion devices.22–25 A large Pr is of great importance for the application of explosive-energy-conversion devices, which directly determines the amount of charge stored/released.3,7 To achieve co-firing, a lower sintering temperature is advantageous as it allows the use of low-cost internal electrodes (e.g., Ag, Cu) to replace the currently common noble metals in multilayer ceramic capacitors, while also reducing the volatilization of highly toxic PbO.26 Additionally, compared to commercial PZT 95/5 ceramics, the high temperature stability indicates that it can be used in higher temperature environments.12,14 Based on the intrinsic properties of materials and the performance-cost requirements of devices, the co-fired xPb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3–(1 − x)Pb(Zr0.4Ti0.6)O3 + Li2CO3 (PMN–PZT + Li) multilayer films are expected to be well applied in explosive-energy-conversion devices with high energy, high temperature stability, low cost and miniaturized sizes. However, the shock-induced electrical response of co-fired multilayer devices assembled from PMN–PZT + Li materials was rarely reported. The phase transition mechanism under high pressures is still unclear, which seriously hinders the applications.
In this work, 0.25Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3–0.75Pb(Zr0.4Ti0.6)O3 + 0.2 wt% Li2CO3 (PMN–PZT + 2Li) multilayer films with high Pr and high temperature stability have been prepared at 960 °C. The electrical response of poled PMN–PZT + 2Li multilayer ferroelectric films under shock compression was investigated using the gas-gun technique. The depolarization mechanism of poled PMN–PZT + 2Li films under shock pressures was elucidated.
High-pressure synchrotron X-ray diffraction experiments were carried out using a symmetric-type diamond anvil cell (DAC) at the Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility (SSRF) in China.29 The incident monochromatic synchrotron radiation beam exhibited a wavelength of 0.6199 Å. The resulting diffraction patterns (Fig. S3†) were subsequently transformed into one-dimensional profiles using the Fit2D software. Pressure measurements were conducted at ambient temperature using the ruby fluorescence method. To effectively transmit pressures, a 4:1 volume mixture of fully deuterated methanol–ethanol was employed as the pressure medium.
The shock depolarization experiment was conducted using a gas-gun technique (Fig. 2a). Shock waves impact and compress the film along the vertical polarization direction, which induces the release of surface-bound charges, thereby generating currents in the load circuit. Fig. 2b and c show a schematic diagram of multilayer ferroelectric films for energy conversion, prepared by casting and stack technology.19,20 The multilayer film was formed by the polarized ferroelectric films stacked in parallel. The area of the single layer film is 12.5 × 12.5 mm2 (Fig. 2b). The polarization of the films is perpendicular to the direction of shock wave propagation (Fig. 2c). The optical microscopy image of the sintered multilayer film is depicted in Fig. 2d. The thickness of the ceramic layer and inner-electrode layer was ∼45 and 1.5 μm, respectively. The amplitude of the current and the total released charge of PMN–PZT + 2Li films increase with increasing shock pressures (Fig. S5 and S6†). Fig. 2e–g illustrate the observed current I and released charge Q in PMN–PZT + 2Li films with different layers under a higher shock pressure of 7.8 GPa. The Q is estimated based on the current, and the parameter r represents the ratio of the actually released charges to the total bound charges calculated from the Pr value. In Fig. 2e, the single-layer PMN–PZT + 2Li film generates a peak current signal around 23.06 A, exhibiting a square wave shape, and releases a charge of 51.77 μC. 97.45% of the total bound charges suggest complete depolarization of the single-layer PMN–PZT + 2Li film. The released charges do not reach 100%, which may be attributed to localized breakdown occurring under shock compression, resulting in partial charge loss.12,14 The 34-layer film energy-storage devices release 98.70% of the total bound charges at the same shock pressure (Fig. 2f). It is noteworthy that the current waveform of fully depolarized 34-layer ferroelectric films does not exhibit a quasi-rectangular shape as observed in single-layer films due to interferences between layers in the multilayer films.7 The complete depolarization of the 34-layer film energy storage device reveals that interlayer interference does not affect the charge release quantity of multilayer ferroelectric films. Fig. 2g shows the typical current waveform released by a 120-layer ferroelectric film energy storage device with a volume of 0.9 cm3 under the shock pressure of 7.8 GPa. The peak current generated by the module is 3156 A, and the released charge is 6105.32 μC, which is the highest current value achieved in such a small volume at present. The released surface charge density is 32.56 μC cm−2 (r = 95.21%), implying that the module is fully depolarized. Hence, the PMN–PZT + 2Li films with high Pr and high current output stemming from complete depolarization provide a new compound for high-performance explosive-energy-conversion devices.
To elucidate the depolarization mechanism of PMN–PZT + 2Li films, in situ high-pressure synchrotron X-ray diffraction measurements were conducted, as shown in Fig. 3a. During pressing, all diffraction peaks shift toward higher angles, indicating a compression of the lattice volume.14 As the pressure escalates from 0 to 2.9 GPa, a fresh reflection materializes at 2θ = 14.8° highlighted by a red spade, signifying a structural phase transition. According to Rietveld refinement of high-pressure diffraction data (Fig. S7†), the structural information and reliability factor (Rwp) for the respective pressures were obtained and are summarized in Table S1.† The low Rwp value (<10%) proves a strong correspondence between the fitted values and the actual experimental data, underscoring the dependability of the findings. The diffraction pattern at 2.9 GPa can be indexed by a combination of the polar R3m structure and non-polar Rc structure. The weight fractions of R3m and Rc phases are 37.18% and 62.82%, respectively. The significant alterations in the synchrotron X-ray diffraction data as pressure increases can be conspicuously emphasized by focusing on specific regions within the diffraction data (Fig. 3b and c). With the increase of pressures, the intensity of characteristic peaks (111) and (200) in the R3m phase gradually decreases and disappears at 4.1 GPa (Fig. 3b and c), suggesting that the PMN–PZT + 2Li undergoes a structural phase transition from the polar R3m phase to the non-polar Rc phase. The polar R3m phase is defined by the alignment of dipoles, which sustains its ferroelectric properties, while the non-polar Rc phase lacks this alignment, resulting in the loss of ferroelectricity. The pressure-induced transformation suggests a loss of ferroelectric polarization in the material.
Furthermore, the correlation between stress experienced by ferroelectrics during the shock compression process and particle velocity, namely the Hugoniot curve (Fig. 3d), can provide a foundation for understanding phase transitions and energy conversion behaviors.27,28,36 The turning point on the curve signifies the structural phase transition point. The phase transition at a dynamic pressure of 4.21 GPa is revealed through analysis of the Hugoniot curve for the PMN–PZT + 2Li material, which is close to the static transition pressure of 4.1 GPa (Fig. 3a). Therefore, the pressure-induced structural phase transition from R3m (polar) to Rc (non-polar) is responsible for the depolarization mechanism of PMN–PZT + 2Li films during the dynamic shock process.
After shock unloading, the film undergoes a transformation into powders, influenced by rarefaction waves.9 The XRD analysis of the samples, both before (films) and after (powders) shock loading, shows that the powders contain a substantial amount of the tetragonal phase with the space group P4mm, along with a small quantity of the rhombohedral phase (R3m), as shown in Fig. S8.† The genesis of the P4mm phase is attributed to the shifting of B-site atoms in the ABO3 perovskite structure along the direction of spontaneous polarization, which could be compelled by residual stress during the film breakage process.8,9,37,38 The differences observed in XRD measurements of the film samples before and after breakage suggest the high sensitivity of PMN–PZT + 2Li to external mechanical processing (Fig. S9†). Under shock loading, the PMN–PZT + 2Li undergoes a series of transitions from ambient pressure to high pressure and back to ambient pressure, following a phase transition path of R3m → Rc → P4mm + R3m. Combined with the XRD (Fig. S8†) and unit cells (Fig. 3e–g) of PMN–PZT + 2Li materials, a schematic diagram of the structural changes in the shock depolarization process of PMN–PZT + 2Li films is obtained (Fig. 3h). Under the driving of shock pressures, B-site atoms move towards the O-octahedron symmetry center in the [111] direction, accomplishing a transition from polarity to non-polarity. After shock unloading, residual stress in the powders is generated inevitably, which promotes the movement of B-site atoms in the [−1−10] direction, leading to the transformation of the material into the P4mm structure. Hence, the phase transition process under in situ high-pressure conditions, as well as after pressure unloading, has been confirmed uncontroversially. These findings not only offer a reference for designing pressure-loaded devices but also lay the groundwork for comprehending material phase transition mechanisms.
The output energy density (Eoutput) of ferroelectric materials can be calculated theoretically using the following equation:
(1) |
Fig. 4 Comparison of peak current density, output energy density and depolarization temperature among ferroelectric ceramics and multilayer ferroelectric films. |
The temperature stability of polarized ferroelectrics serves as a crucial indicator in assessing the capability of ferroelectric devices to maintain stable operation under high-temperature conditions. In explosive-energy-conversion, ferroelectric materials with high remanent polarization are commonly used. These materials primarily include PZT 95/5,7,8 PZT 52/48,10,11,34 PIN–PMN–PT,8,9 BNT,3,13 and KNN,14 with stability temperatures of approximately 50 °C,34 147 °C,34 125 °C,8 140 °C,3 and 188 °C,14 respectively, all lower than the 213 °C stability temperature of the synthesized PMN–PZT + 2Li material. While PZT-based ferroelectric materials are widely used in actuators, piezoelectric detectors, sensors, and ultrasonic transducers due to their excellent piezoelectric and ferroelectric properties, their stability temperature is only around 150 °C.34,38 The PMN–PZT + 2Li film also shows excellent stability up to 213 °C, which is four times that of commercial PZT 95/5 (Fig. 4).34,35 Herein, the PMN–PZT + 2Li material, with its stability temperature of 213 °C, presents greater potential for applications in these fields. Obviously, compared with the multilayer PZT 95/5 films,7 the multilayer PMN–PZT + 2Li films not only yield cost reduction due to the use of low-cost internal electrodes and enhanced temperature stability against the high depolarization temperature, but also generates a superior output energy density (Fig. 4). Through material design, we have successfully obtained PMN–PZT + 2Li ferroelectric films with high-temperature stability, and significant energy storage capacity at lower sintering temperatures. Combined with low-temperature co-fired ceramic technology, the multilayer ferroelectric film devices were further assembled, achieving the amazing peak current density of 3.507 A cm−3 and output energy density of 3.059 J cm−3.
Footnotes |
† Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available. See DOI: https://doi.org/10.1039/d4ta06396a |
‡ Zhengwei Xiong, Zhangyang Zhou and Yi Liu contributed equally to this work. |
This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2024 |