title: Evolution of the tetragonal to rhombohedral transition in (1 -x)(Bi1/2Na1/2)TiO3-xBaTiO3(x≤ 7%).
abstract: (1 -x)(Bi1/2Na1/2)TiO3-xBaTiO3has been the most studied Pb-free piezoelectric material in the last decade; however, puzzles still remain about its phase transitions, especially around the important morphotropic phase boundary (MPB). By introducing the strain glass transition concept from the ferroelastic field, it was found that the phase transition from tetragonal (T,P4bm) to rhombohedral (R,R3c) was affected by a strain glass transition at higher temperature forx≽ 4%. In these compositions, the T-R transition was delayed or even totally suppressed and displayed huge thermal hysteresis upon cooling and heating. Also, isothermal phase transitions were predicted and realized successfully in the crossover region, where the interaction between the T-R transition and the strain glass transition was strong. Our results revealed the strain glass nature in compositions around the MPB in this important material, and also provide new clues for understanding the transition complexity in other (Bi1/2Na1/2)TiO3-based Pb-free piezoelectric materials.
authors.affiliation: Multi-disciplinary Materials Research Center, Frontier Institute of Science and Technology, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710049, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Yonggang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yao
authors.affiliation: Multi-disciplinary Materials Research Center, Frontier Institute of Science and Technology, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710049, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Zhimin
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Multi-disciplinary Materials Research Center, Frontier Institute of Science and Technology, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710049, People's Republic of China; Ferroic Physics Group, National Institute for Materials Science, Tsukuba 305-0047, Ibaraki, Japan.
authors.forename: Yuanchao
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ji
authors.affiliation: Multi-disciplinary Materials Research Center, Frontier Institute of Science and Technology, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710049, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Yaodong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA.
authors.forename: Xiaoli
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.affiliation: Multi-disciplinary Materials Research Center, Frontier Institute of Science and Technology, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710049, People's Republic of China; Ferroic Physics Group, National Institute for Materials Science, Tsukuba 305-0047, Ibaraki, Japan.
authors.forename: Xiaobing
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Ren
keywords: 10.04; 10.06; 30.05; Pb-free piezoelectrics; dynamic mechanical analysis; morphotropic phase boundary; phase transition