Three-dimensional honeycomb structured BaTiO3-based piezoelectric ceramics via texturing and vat photopolymerization

Abstract

Textured piezoelectric ceramics have attracted significant attention due to their ability to achieve ultra-high piezoelectric properties comparable to single crystals at a lower cost. Traditional processing techniques, such as tape casting, can efficiently produce textured piezoelectric ceramics with simple structures but are inadequate for fabricating three-dimensional structures with high complexity, thereby limiting their applications in specific fields. Vat photopolymerization (VPP), an advanced additive manufacturing technology, can rapidly and accurately create intricate three-dimensional structures. Crucially, VPP can provide the necessary shear force to align the templates, resulting in the highly-textured piezoelectric ceramics. In this study, BaTiO₃-based piezoelectric ceramics with a high degree of texture (97.2 %) were produced using VPP technology. These ceramics exhibited a large piezoelectric coefficient (d₃₃ = 511 pC/N), which was 66 % higher than that of non-textured ceramics. Furthermore, textured ceramics with a honeycomb structure were fabricated, demonstrating their potential in sensing applications. This work confirms the feasibility of using VPP technology to prepare high-performance, complex-structured textured ceramics, thereby promoting the development and application of textured piezoelectric ceramics.