To study the effect of low temperature crystal growth on the structural and ferroelectric properties of lead-free BCT-BZT ceramic

Abstract

Barium Zirconate Titanate-Barium Calcium Titanate (BCT-BZT) is one of the lead-free systems, which exhibits remarkable ferroelectric properties akin to lead-based perovskite materials. In this study, we have synthesized x(Ba_0.85Ca_0.15)TiO₃-(1−x)Ba(Zr_0.15Ti_0.85)O₃ (where x = 0.4, 0.5, 0.6) monophonic powders by hydrothermal method at 150 °C. X-ray diffraction reveals the pure tetragonal phase. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) studies make known that the crystal growth is uniform due to low temperature, and that the ceramics are highly dense and polycrystalline. The single semicircle indicates bulk behavior. The bulk resistance decreases with the increase in temperature showing a typical semiconducting property, negative temperature coefficient of resistance (NTCR) behavior.

Keywords:

• BCT-BZT
• dielectric properties
• ferroelectricity
• impedance spectroscopy

Acknowledgments

S. Thakur also acknowledges I3N and FCT for the post-doc grant with reference BPD-14/I3N (7908/2017).

Additional information

Funding

The authors are grateful by the FEDER funds through the COMPETE 2020 Program and National Funds through FCT - Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology under the project UID/CTM/50025/2013.