Abstract
Lead-free ceramics with a composition of 0.55 mol%$K_4CuNb_8O_23-(K_{1-x}Na_x)NbO_3$ (KCN-KNNx) where $0.45{\leq}x{\leq}0.60$ were synthesized by conventional ceramic processing. Results revealed that the addition of Na was effective in changing the microstructure and relative density of KCN-KNNx. Further, the addition of Na resulted in a slight shift of the phase transition temperatures (To-t and Tc) toward low values. A high mechanical quality factor (Qm) of 1850 was found atx=0.54, which might be due to the build-up of an internal bias field (Ei) within KCN. Thermal hysteresis in KNNx was confirmed with an increase in the Na content during the heating and cooling cycles, resulting from structural changes. Thus, KCN-KNNx with x=0.54 exhibits excellent piezoelectric properties with d33 (97 pC/N), kp (36%), and Qm (1850), being promising candidates for application in high-power piezoelectric devices.