The effect of mole fraction on the phase transition of Ba_xSr_1-xTiO₃ ceramic from cubic to tetragonal assisted by Rietveld analysis

Abstract

The displacive phase transition in BaxSr1-xTiO3 (BST) ceramic due to the mole fraction differences was investigated using x-ray diffraction assisted by Rietveld analysis. Detailed Rietveld analysis showed that BST undergoes a structural phase transformation from cubic to tetragonal phase. Average crystallite size and microstrain present in the powders were studied using the Wilson and Debye–Scherrer equation. The crystal structure of samples was refined by the Rietveld method, and an expansion on the unit cell parameters was determined. These analyses revealed an increment in the unit cell strain and an increase in the crystallite size when the mole fraction was increased.

Keywords:

• Ba_xSr_1-xTiO₃
• crystallite size
• microstrain
• Rietveld method
• Wilson formula

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank J. Rodriguez-Carvajal who has provided "FULLPROF", a program for Rietveld Refinement and Pattern Matching Analysis.

Conflicts of interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Funding

This research was funded by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of Indonesia through Penelitian Kerjasama Antar Perguruan Tinggi (PKPT) research grant, funding year 2021, contract No. 010/SP2H/RDPKR-JAMAK/LL4/2021 and 155/LPPM-UP/KPD.JMK/VII/2021.