Effect of zirconium hydrolysis degree on the dielectric properties of PbZrO3

In this study, the dielectric properties of PbZrO3 thin films are studied as a function of the water/acetic acid solvent ratio of the precursor sol-gel solution. By increasing the water ratio from 35/65 to 85/15, the saturation polarization increases from 24.3 to 27.2 mu C/cm(2) and the antiferroelectric-ferroelectric field transition (E-AF) from 528 to 564 kV/cm. When the hydrolysis rate is higher, the antiferroelectric phase is stabilized due to a denser antiferroelectric matrix with lower defects. As the consequence, the energy storage performances are better for a higher hydrolysis rate: the recoverable energy density increases from 6.3 to 10 J/cm(3) and the efficiency from 67 to 71%. A higher permittivity and lower dielectric losses confirm also the enhancement of the antiferroelectric matrix when increasing the amount of water in the precursor solution. In order to obtain better energy storage and dielectric properties, it is preferable to have a high ratio water/acetic acid in the precursor sol-gel solution.