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Solid solutions of (1−x)PbZrO3‐xBa(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3 (PZ‐xBMN, x = 0.02, 0.03, 0.04, and 0.05) were prepared, and their microstructures, electrical properties, and phase transition behaviors under hydrostatic pressure were investigated. It was found that the incorporation of BMN into PZ can provide improved ferroelectric properties, leading to the formation of antiferroelectric/ferroelectric phase boundaries in PZ‐xBMN ceramics when the value of x is between 0.02 and 0.03. It was also demonstrated that the ferroelectric phases exhibit excellent temperature stability in the remanent polarization. Importantly, complete depolarization was observed in the PZ‐xBMN solid solution due to the hydrostatic pressure‐induced ferroelectric‐antiferroelectric phase transition. The resultant properties and phase transition behaviors of PZ‐xBMN ceramics under pressure will benefit their application in pulsed power supplies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several 0.97PbZrO3–0.03Ba(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3 (0.97PZ–0.03BMN) ceramics were prepared via the columbite precursor method. Their microstructures and pressure-dependent ferroelectric and depolarization performances were then studied. The X-ray diffraction patterns of ground and fresh samples indicate that a main rhombohedral symmetry crystal structure is present in the bulk and that it sits alongside a trace quantity of an orthorhombic antiferroelectric phase that results from the effect of grinding on the surface. The remanent polarization (Pr) of the 0.97PZ–0.03BMN reached 32.4 μC/cm2 at 4.5 kV/mm and ambient pressure. In an in situ pressure-induced current measurement, more than 91% of the retained Pr of the pre-poled sample was released when the pressure was increased from 194 MPa to 238 MPa. That this pressure-driven depolarization should be attributed to the pressure-induced ferroelectric–antiferroelectric phase transition is supported by the emergence of double P–E loops at high hydrostatic pressures. Moreover, the 0.97PZ-0.03BMN ceramics exhibit no temperature-induced phase transitions and little related polarization loss up to 125 °C, which suggests that Pr has excellent thermal stability. The sharp depolarization behavior at low pressures and excellent temperature stability reveal that our 0.97PZ–0.03BMN ceramics exhibit superior performances in mechanical–electrical energy conversion applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]