Enhanced energy storage properties of strontium barium niobate ceramics by glass addition

Strontium barium niobate (SBN) ceramics with BaO-B₂O₃-SiO₂ (BBS, 0–5 wt%) glass additive were prepared by the solid state reaction method, and the sintering behavior, crystal structure, microstructure, dielectric property and energy-storage density were investigated. The results show that the sintering temperature of SBN ceramics can be reduced from 1325 to 1175 °C by BBS addition. The BBS-added SBN ceramic materials adopt a single tetragonal tungsten-bronze structure. The addition of BBS can improve densification and refine grain size of the SBN ceramics. The breakdown strength of the SBN ceramics is greatly improved by BBS addition. The SBN ceramic material with 2 wt% BBS additive has the optimal electrical properties: the dielectric constant (ε_r) is 1598, the breakdown strength is 279 kV/cm, and the energy storage density (J) is 5.39 J/cm³, which is improved by 2.3 times as compared with that of the pure SBN ceramics. This study provides the BBS added SBN ceramic as an attractive candidate for making high-energy density capacitors.