Dual Real-Time Response to Lattice Distortion and Temperature Fields in Energy-Storage Ceramics

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Ceramic Engineering
• Solid State Physics

Background:

• Developing dielectric ceramics for aerospace requires simultaneous lattice distortion detection and high energy storage.
• Existing materials face challenges in meeting these dual demands for fail-safe systems.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design a novel NaNbO3-based relaxor ferroelectric material.
• To achieve sensitive lattice-distortion detection and high capacitive energy storage.
• To enable real-time monitoring and superior energy storage in extreme environments.

Main Methods:

• A high-low valence co-substitution strategy was employed for the composition (1-x)[0.85(Na0.94Yb0.01Tm0.01)NbO3-0.15(Bi0.5Na0.5)TiO3]-x(Ba0.5Sr0.5)(Sn0.5Hf0.5)O3.
• Investigated Bi3+/5+ self-compensation mechanism and its effect on lattice distortion and rare-earth luminescence.
• Analyzed the coexistence of polymorphic relaxor phases and their impact on energy storage properties.

Main Results:

• Established a direct correlation between lattice distortion and rare-earth luminescence (Yb3+/Tm3+) for real-time monitoring via photoluminescence peak splitting.
• Achieved anomalous thermally enhanced fluorescence for temperature sensing.
• Obtained a high breakdown strength of 785 kV cm-1 and a recoverable energy density of 13.73 J cm-3 with 94.24% efficiency due to dual-site Bi substitution and polymorphic relaxor phase coexistence.

Conclusions:

• The developed multifunctional material enables atomic-resolution operando monitoring.
• Demonstrated superior energy storage capabilities suitable for extreme environments.
• Provides a new paradigm for designing advanced dielectric ceramics for aerospace applications.