Structural & electrical characterization of (Bi0.5Na0.5TiO3)1- x(BaTiO3)x solid solution in the vicinity of morphotropic phase boundary

Abstract

The (1–x) Bi0.5Na0.5TiO3-xBaTiO3 (x = 0.04, 0.045, 0.05, 0.055, 0.06) solid solution was prepared by sol-gel method followed by conventional sintering at 1000 °C for 1h. X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy were used to characterize the solid solutions, which revealed that a morphotropic phase boundary (MPB) exists between (x = 0.05-006). A dense microstructure of all specimens has been observed by SEM micrographs. Further their dielectric, ferroelectric, and piezoelectric properties have been studied. With the increasing concentration of BT, the dielectric constant increases to 1155 for x = 0.055 and further decreases. The P-E loop indicates the comparable remnant polarization and low coercive field for all ceramics. The ceramic exhibits strong piezoelectric coefficient at MPB, and for x = 0.055 it exhibits highest d33 ~ 105pC/N.