This dataset is a part of the research article 'High freeze-casting cooling rates enhance the piezoelectric responses and reproducibility of porous lead zirconate titanate for sensing and energy harvesting'. It contains comprehensive characterization data for ferroelectric lead zirconate titanate PZT NCE51 ceramic, fabricated using a range of freeze-casting cooling rates ranging from 1 to 4 °C/min. This dataset contains hysteresis polarization-electric field loops, impedance spectroscopy data and scanning electron micrographs, which provide insights into the hierarchical relationships between processing, microstructure, and properties in freeze-cast ferroelectrics.

The dataset also contains the results from finite element modeling, demonstrating the effects of wall thickness (or mechanical clamping), pore channel defects (i.e., ceramic grains within pore channels) and wall defects (i.e., pores within ceramic walls) on bulk electromechanical properties. A model representing the residual stress state after poling, which demonstrates how residual stresses influence thermal stability in terms of piezoelectric properties of lead zirconate titanate near the Curie temperature.

This may be of interest to researchers focused on the design and characterization of advanced ferroelectric composites.