Diffuse dielectric behavior of (Bi<inf>0.5</inf>Na<inf>0.5</inf>)Zr<inf>1-x</inf>Ti<inf>x</inf>O<inf>3</inf>lead-free ceramics

Abstract

(Bi0.5Na0.5)Zr1-xTixO3with x = 0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, 0.5 and 0.6 ceramics were fabricated by a conventional sintering technique at 850-950°C for 2 h. From X-ray diffraction study, three regions of different phases were observed in the ceramic system i.e., orthorhombic phase region (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.2), mixed-phase region (0.3 ≤ x ≤ 0.4), and rhombohedral phase region (0.5 ≤ x ≤ 0.6). The observed diffuse dielectric phase transition could be correlated to the compositional inhomogeneity of the samples. The dielectric properties as a function of the temperature at different frequency indicated normal ferroelectric behavior in BNZ and BNZT ceramics. The phase transformation from orthorhombic phase to rhombohderal phase affected significantly the dielectric enhancement and decrease of the maximum temperature in this ceramic system. © 2014 Copyright Taylor and Francis Group, LLC.