Effect of Yttrium Doping in Barium Zirconium Titanate Ceramics: A Structural, Impedance, and Modulus Spectroscopy Study

In the current article, we studied the effect of yttrium [Y³⁺] ions’ substitution on the structure and electric behavior of barium zirconate titanate (BZT) ceramics with a general formula [Ba_1−x Y_2x/3](Zr_0.25Ti_0.75)O₃ (BYZT) with [x = 0, 0.025, and 0.05] which were prepared by the solid-state reaction method. X-ray diffraction patterns indicate that these ceramics have a single phase with a perovskite-type cubic structure. Rietveld refinement data confirmed [BaO₁₂], [ZrO₆], [TiO₆], and [YO₆] clusters in the cubic lattice. The Y³⁺ ions’ effects on the electric conductivity behavior of BZT ceramics as a function of temperature and frequency are described, which are based on impedance spectroscopy analyses. The complex impedance plots display a double semicircle which highlights the influences of grain and grain boundary on the ceramics. Impedance analyses showed that the resistance decreased with the increasing temperature and resulted in a negative temperature coefficient of the resistance property in all compositions. Modulus plots represent a non-Debye-type dielectric relaxation which is related to the grain and grain boundary as well as temperature-dependent electric relaxation phenomenon and an enhancement in the mobility barrier by Y³⁺ ions. Moreover, the electric conductivity increases with the replacement of Ba²⁺ by Y³⁺ ions may be due to the rise in oxygen vacancies.