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(Ba 0.85 Ca 0.15 )(Zr 0.1 Ti 0.9- x Ce x )O 3 + y Sb (abbreviated as BCZTC x S y ) ceramics were prepared by the conventional solid-state reaction. The effect of the co-doping of Ce and Sb on the phase structure, microstructure, dielectric, and ferroelectric and piezoelectric performances of BCZTC x S y ceramics were investigated systematically. The results indicated that the obtained ceramics are composed of coexisting rhombohedral and tetragonal phases. Significant improvements were also observed in the growth of grain, relative density, as well as electrical performance. After co-doping 0.05 mol% Ce and 0.10 mol% Sb, the sizes of crystalline grains reached the maximum. The following optimal properties were obtained: ε r = 2353, tan  δ = 0.026, T c = 109.4 °C, P max = 17.65 μC cm -2 , P r = 10.43 μC cm -2 , E c = 2.88 kV cm -1 , S max = 0.125%, = 417 pm V -1 , d 33 = 372 pC N -1 . With the increase in dopants, the diffuseness γ increased from 1.663 to 1.733, indicating a more relaxed ferroelectric characteristic. All improvements show that BCZT ceramics co-doped with Ce and Sb could be promising candidates in lead-free devices., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts to declare., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)

KTa 1- x Nb x O 3 with different Ta/Nb ratios ( x = 0.15, 0.25, 0.5, 0.75, 0.85) were engineered and prepared by a facile hydrothermal synthesis method to acquire KTN nanoparticles with varied polarity. To investigate the effect of KTN filler with varied polarity on the dielectric performance of polymer matrix composites, KTN/PVDF films were fabricated. The experiment demonstrated the polarity of KTN affected the dielectric performance of the composites. KTa 0.5 Nb 0.5 O 3 possesses larger polarity with permittivity of 3780 at 1 kHz due to its Curie temperature is closer to room temperature, which contributes 30 wt% doped KTa 0.5 Nb 0.5 O 3 /PVDF composite achieving higher permittivity of 19.5 at 1 kHz than those of the others. Additionally, KTa 0.75 Nb 0.25 O 3 /PVDF composite presents higher breakdown strength than those of the others with an E b value of 164 kV mm -1 when 20 wt% filler is doped. The significant improved dielectric performance by Ta/Nb ratio engineering has the potential of providing new insight on enhancing the energy storage in ceramic-polymer nanocomposites., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts to declare., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)