Anomaly in dielectric and piezoelectric properties of (1−x)Pb[Mg1/3Nb2/3]O3–xPbZrO3 ceramic

(1−x)Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3–xPbZrO3 ceramic has been investigated for dielectric and piezoelectric behavior for the complete solid solution range. The dielectric constant ( ε ′ ), coupling coefficient ( k 31 ) and piezoelectric strain coefficient ( d 33 ) show anomaly in the composition range of 0.40 < x < 0.50 . The optimal properties ( ε m ′ = 19 , 500 , k 31 = 0.16 and d 33 = 100 pC / N ) were observed at x = 0.44 . This is similar to the behavior observed in well-known relaxor based solid solutions at their morphotropic phase boundary composition. However, the absolute values are substantially lower than these analogous solid solutions. The low value is attributed to the absence of low symmetry intermediate phase in the crossover region.