Electrocaloric properties of (1 − x)Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3–xPbTiO3 ferroelectric ceramics near room temperature

Abstract Electrocaloric effects of (1 − x)Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3–xPbTiO3 [abbreviated as (1 − x)PMN–xPT] ferroelectric ceramics with x being, 0.08, 0.10, and 0.25, respectively, were measured near room temperature, and the origins of the electrocaloric effects of these ceramics were discussed. It was found that these ceramics possess large electrocaloric effect with ΔT being, more than 1 K under an electric field of 1.5 kV mm−1 in a wide temperature range (more than 10 K) near room temperature, and this effect is due to both of the electrocaloric effect resulting from the electric field induced first-order phase transition and the linear electrocaloric effect. It is expected that these ceramics could be used for multi-stage cascade ferroelectric refrigeration near room temperature.