ForMatter/Materials/smart/PZT (Lead Zirconate Titanate)
mat_smart_pzt

PZT (Lead Zirconate Titanate)

perovskite piezoelectric ceramic · PZT, Pb(Zr,Ti)O₃, piezo ceramic
highlast updated 2026-04-27

The most-used piezoelectric ceramic on Earth — a hard perovskite ceramic that converts mechanical strain to voltage and vice versa. Quartz crystals dominate piezoelectricity by raw unit count (the timing oscillator in every digital clock, smartphone, and microcontroller is a quartz resonator), but PZT is the standard wherever a piezoelectric ceramic is appropriate: the buzzer in a smoke alarm, the actuator in an inkjet printhead, the depth sensor in an ultrasound transducer, the spark in most gas-grill ignitors. PZT contains lead, which makes it a regulated material in many EU end-uses (RoHS exempts it for now, but lead-free alternatives are an active research target).

Pb(Zr_xTi_{1-x})O₃ perovskite ceramic (typically x ≈ 0.5 — the morphotropic phase boundary, where piezoelectric coupling peaks). Curie temperature 200–400 °C depending on composition and doping. Piezoelectric coefficient d₃₃ ranges 250–700 pC/N for soft (donor-doped) grades. Density ~7.6 g/cm³. Brittle ceramic — fails by fracture rather than yield; service stresses must stay well below the cracking limit.

Mechanical

  • density · kg/m³7600
source: PI Ceramic datasheet; APC International data

Piezoelectric

  • d33 (soft) · pC/N500
  • Curie temp (typical) · °C350
source: PI Ceramic datasheet

Sustainability

  • embodied carbon · kg CO₂e/kg12
  • recyclabilitylow — lead content requires hazardous-waste treatment
  • biodegradableFalse
  • certificationsEU RoHS exemption for Pb in PZT (currently extended)
source: Editorial estimate from ICE / Granta CES EduPack class databases — industry mean, with cradle-to-gate boundary unless otherwise noted. Embodied carbon for any specific product depends on supplier mix, recycled content, and energy grid; verify against a primary source before using these numbers in a sustainability claim.
visual
matte off-white ceramic disc / plate; often with electroded silver surfaces
tactile
brittle ceramic feel

PBR starter values

finish · matte — open for table, JSON, host snippets, downloads

Principled BSDF defaults derived from the sphere matte finish. Reasonable seed for Blender, Substance, Keyshot, Rhino — tune per material. Or grab the whole library at once: ForMaterials library →

# finish:                   matte
albedo                      #c8c4b8
metallic                    0.00
roughness                   0.75
ior                         1.45
transmission                0.00
clearcoat                   0.00
sheen                       0.00
anisotropic                 0.00
copy as JSON 
{
  "albedo": "#c8c4b8",
  "metallic": 0.0,
  "roughness": 0.75,
  "ior": 1.45,
  "transmission": 0.0,
  "clearcoat": 0.0,
  "sheen": 0.0,
  "anisotropic": 0.0
}
Blender 4.x Python 
# Blender 4.x — Principled BSDF
# PZT (Lead Zirconate Titanate) · finish: matte
import bpy
mat = bpy.data.materials.new(name="mat_smart_pzt")
mat.use_nodes = True
bsdf = mat.node_tree.nodes["Principled BSDF"]
bsdf.inputs["Base Color"].default_value         = (0.5776, 0.552, 0.4793, 1.0)
bsdf.inputs["Metallic"].default_value           = 0.000
bsdf.inputs["Roughness"].default_value          = 0.750
bsdf.inputs["IOR"].default_value                = 1.450
bsdf.inputs["Transmission Weight"].default_value = 0.000
bsdf.inputs["Coat Weight"].default_value        = 0.000
bsdf.inputs["Sheen Weight"].default_value       = 0.000
bsdf.inputs["Anisotropic"].default_value        = 0.000
KeyShot Python (lux) 
# KeyShot 11+ — lux Python API, Generic material
# PZT (Lead Zirconate Titanate) · finish: matte
# Run from Window → Scripting Console
import lux
mat = lux.createMaterial(name="mat_smart_pzt", materialType="Generic")
mat.setProperty("diffuse",      (200, 196, 184))   # 8-bit sRGB
mat.setProperty("metallic",     0.000)
mat.setProperty("roughness",    0.750)
mat.setProperty("indexOfRefraction", 1.450)
mat.setProperty("transparency", 0.000)
mat.setProperty("coatingWeight", 0.000)
Substance pbrMetalRough 
{
  "_format": "Substance Designer / Painter \u2014 pbrMetalRough constants",
  "_about": "PZT (Lead Zirconate Titanate) \u00b7 finish: matte",
  "baseColor": {
    "r": 0.5776,
    "g": 0.552,
    "b": 0.4793
  },
  "metallic": 0.0,
  "roughness": 0.75,
  "ior": 1.45,
  "opacity": 1.0,
  "anisotropyLevel": 0.0,
  "_notes": "Channels listed are the standard Substance pbrMetalRough output. Drop into a Uniform Color node per channel, or as the constant input on a layered stack."
}
glTF 2.0 Metallic-Roughness 
{
  "asset": {
    "version": "2.0",
    "generator": "ForMatter"
  },
  "materials": [
    {
      "name": "mat_smart_pzt",
      "pbrMetallicRoughness": {
        "baseColorFactor": [
          0.5776,
          0.552,
          0.4793,
          1.0
        ],
        "metallicFactor": 0.0,
        "roughnessFactor": 0.75
      },
      "extensions": {
        "KHR_materials_ior": {
          "ior": 1.45
        }
      }
    }
  ]
}
USD Preview Surface 
# USD Preview Surface — UsdShade.MaterialLook prim attributes
# PZT (Lead Zirconate Titanate) · finish: matte
def Material "mat_smart_pzt" {
    token outputs:surface.connect = </mat_smart_pzt/PreviewSurface.outputs:surface>

    def Shader "PreviewSurface" {
        uniform token info:id = "UsdPreviewSurface"
        color3f inputs:diffuseColor = (0.5776, 0.552, 0.4793)
        float   inputs:metallic     = 0.000
        float   inputs:roughness    = 0.750
        float   inputs:ior          = 1.450
        float   inputs:opacity      = 1.000
        float   inputs:clearcoat    = 0.000
        token   outputs:surface
    }
}
↓ download glTF material

Second life

repairabilityvery low — fired PZT ceramic is brittle; replacement standard.
recyclabilitymoderate — lead-bearing piezoceramic requires hazmat handling; specialty recyclers recover lead and titanium / zirconium.
disposal pathspecialty hazmat handler (lead content).
typical longevity20 years (typical)
failure modes
  • brittle fracture under tensile stress (PZT must operate in compression)
  • depoling at sustained Curie-temperature exposure
  • lead leaching at end-of-life — RoHS regulatory pressure

APC International PZT technical literature; IEEE Standard on Piezoelectricity; RoHS Directive 2011/65/EU.

Citations