Degradation of Lead Zirconate Titanate Piezoelectric Ceramics Induced by Water and AC Voltages

摘要

A comparison experiment was conducted in which some lead zirconate titanate (PZT) piezoelectric ceramic rings were simply immersed in a 0.01 M NaOH solution while other PZT rings were immersed in the solution with a 50 Hz AC voltage applied between the electrodes of the rings and a counter electrode in the solution. Though the simple immersion showed no noticeable influence on the PZT rings, those PZT rings treated with the application of the AC voltage were obviously degraded in their piezoelectric properties. It was proposed that the degradation resulted from the collaborated reactions of atomic hydrogen and oxygen generated in the AC voltage-induced electrolysis of water. Water may be an important origin for degradation of piezoelectric ceramic devices operating under AC voltages.