Lead-free energy storage ceramics for the general public

Are lead-free ceramics the future of energy storage?

Lead-free ceramics with high energy storage performance will meet the urgent need for advanced pulsed power systems and environmental protection. Despite the breakthroughs achieved in lead-free ceramics over the past few years, challenges still exist for both theoretical and experimental investigations.

Which lead-free bulk ceramics are suitable for electrical energy storage applications?

Here, we present an overview on the current state-of-the-art lead-free bulk ceramics for electrical energy storage applications, including SrTiO 3, CaTiO 3, BaTiO 3, (Bi 0.5 Na 0.5)TiO 3, (K 0.5 Na 0.5)NbO 3, BiFeO 3, AgNbO 3 and NaNbO 3 -based ceramics.

Are lead-free ceramic dielectrics suitable for energy storage?

However, the thickness and average grain size of most reported lead-free ceramic dielectrics for energy storage are in the range of 30–200 μm and 1–10 μm, respectively. This may impede the development of electronic devices towards miniaturization with outstanding performance.

What is a lead-free ceramic?

Among various lead-free materials, including Bi 0.5 Na 0.5 TiO 3 (BNT) 9, BiFeO 3 (BF) 10, and BaTiO 3 (BT) 11, K 0.5 Na 0.5 NbO 3 (KNN)-based ceramics are one of the most extensively studied dielectric for advanced energy storage applications 1, 2, 3, 4, 12.

Can lead-free MLCC be used for energy storage applications?

Currently, the electrodes of lead-free MLCC for energy storage applications are primarily composed of the noble metal of Pt, significantly increasing the cost of MLCC. In the case of AgNbO3 -based lead-free anti-ferroelectric ceramics, these ceramics require sintering in an O 2 atmosphere during the fabrication process.

Are lead-free anti-ferroelectric ceramics suitable for energy storage applications?

At present, the development of lead-free anti-ferroelectric ceramics for energy storage applications is focused on the AgNbO 3 (AN) and NaNbO 3 (NN) systems. The energy storage properties of AN and NN-based lead-free ceramics in representative previous reports are summarized in Table 6.