Impedance spectroscopic study on microwave sintered (1 − x) Na_0.5Bi_0.5TiO₃–x BaTiO₃ ceramics

Complex impedance spectroscopic technique has been implemented to study the detailed electrical transport properties of Lead free ferroelectric ceramic solid solutions of (1 − x) Na_0.5Bi_0.5TiO₃–x BaTiO₃ (NBT–BT) (0.00 ≤ x ≤ 0.10). The NBT–BT ceramics have been synthesized by sol–gel auto combustion method and sintered via microwave sintering technique. Room temperature X-ray diffraction patterns confirmed the formation of the single phase materials with perovskite structure. The surface morphology of the samples has been studied using field emission scanning electron microscopic (FESEM) technique. The FESEM micrographs confirm that the grain size decreases with increasing BaTiO₃ (BT) concentration. Complex impedance, complex electric modulus formalism, and frequency dependent ac conductivity analysis have been used to study the relaxation and conduction mechanism in these materials. The presence of grain- and grain boundary contribution to impedance spectra in NBT–BT ceramics were analyzed using complex impedance plot in association with complex modulus plot. The grain- and grain boundary contributions were discerned in NBT–BT ceramic through least-squares fitting of the experimental data with a suitable equivalent circuit model. Complex impedance and complex electric modulus spectroscopic analysis indicate that the dielectric relaxation in these materials are of non-Debye type. A negative temperature coefficient of resistance (NTCR) behavior of our NBT–BT ceramics was seen from the temperature dependent conductivity studies. We have obtained similar activation energies from the conduction and relaxation process.