Enhanced dielectric and ferroelectric properties of 0.57(Bi,La)FeO3-0.43PbTiO3 multiferroic ceramics by the Ti substitution

The ceramics of 0.57(Bi
0.8
La
0.2
)(Fe
1x
Ti
x
)O
3
-0.43PbTiO
3
(BLFT-PT) for 0 ≤ x ≤ 0.15 have been synthesized by the solid state reaction method. BLFT-PT ceramics exhibit the dominant rhombohedral structure for x ≤ 0.08, which transfer to the tetragonal phases with further increasing the Ti concentration. However, the second phases are detected for BLFT-PT of x ≥ 0.1. Upon using the Ti substitution, the ac (alternating current) conductivity σ
ac
of BLFT-PT ceramics is significantly reduced at the elevated temperatures. The remnant polarization P
r
and piezoelectric constant d
33
of BLFT-PT are enhanced by the Ti substitution, reaching the maximum of P
r
= 46µC/cm
²
and d
33
= 262 pC/N for x = 0.05. Our results indicate that BLFT-PT is an alternative multiferroic candidate with excellent piezoelectric properties.