Effect of surface modification of lead zirconate titanate particles on the properties of piezoelectric composite sensors

摘要

Piezoelectric composite sensors which consist of a ferroelectric ceramic phase and a polymer binder have been the center of interest for offering a distributed sensing mechanism in many industrial applications. This study investigates the effect of PZT surface modification on the mechanical and piezoelectric properties of PZT/epoxy composite sensors. Lead zirconate titanate ceramic powder (PZT-5H) was surface modified to prepare a high PZT content (0-3) piezoelectric composite sensor. Functional groups of the modifiers grafted onto the PZT particle surface served as a bridge into the epoxy matrix, thus creating strong bonds between the matrix and PZT particles. This noticeably improved the dispersion of the PZT phase, allowing the use of large fractions of piezoactive component in the composite. It is demonstrated that the produced piezo-film shows an enhanced poling behavior in that it can be poled with lower voltages under reduced poling times. This is caused by greater levels of microstructural homogeneity in the modified films as well as alteration of interfacial charge characteristics using modifiers' functional groups.