Dielectric capacitors featuring high energy density and excellent temperature stability are vital to the miniaturization and reliability of high-power electronic systems. Antiferroelectrics (AFEs) exhibit high polarization through field-induced phase transition. However, their antiferroelectric-ferroelectric phase transition electric field (EAFE-FE) usually exceeds the dielectric breakdown strength, severely restricting their practical energy storage capability. To address this issue, we propose an antiferroelectric/relaxor ferroelectric composite strategy that effectively reduces the EAFE-FE by tuning the phase transition energy barrier, thereby facilitating field-induced polarization switching. The Pb0.94La0.04(Zr0.84Sn0.15Ti0.01)O3/2 wt % 0.8Ba(Zr0.1Ti0.9)O3-0.2 Bi(Zn2/3Ta1/3)O3 (PLZST/2BZT) composite ceramics exhibit a high recoverable energy storage density (Wrec) of 9.3 J cm-3 and an energy storage efficiency (η) of 85% when subjected to a breakdown electric field of 325 kV cm-1. This remarkable performance is owing to the reduced phase transition energy barrier and the enhanced interfacial polarization, which collectively strengthen polarization response. Notably, the PLZST/2BZT ceramics also exhibit exceptional temperature stability, maintaining Wrec above 6.5 J cm-3 and η invariably surpassing 81% over a broad temperature range of -20 to 140 °C under a 320 kV cm-1 electric field. These results highlight the effectiveness of the AFE/relaxor ferroelectric composite strategy for achieving high-performance dielectric ceramics, providing valuable insights into the design of high-performance capacitors for advanced dielectric materials and high-power electronic devices.
Tan et al. (Thu,) studied this question.