Structural and electrical study of CeIV-substituted bismuth vanadate

Samples of Ce-IV-substituted bismuth vanadate, formulated as Bi4CexV2-xO11-(x/2)-delta; 0 <= x <= 0.30, were synthesized by solid-state reactions. The phase structure and electrical conductivity were investigated using X-ray powder diffraction, FT-IR differential thermal analysis and AC impedance spectroscopy. For a low composition range, two phase transitions, alpha <-> beta and beta <-> gamma, were exhibited in which the system mimics in most events the parent compound. Impedance analysis evidenced no relationship between the blocking effect of charge carriers and structural changes at ambient temperatures. However, the temperature dependence of conductivity was correlated with the stability region of various phases within the system. Crown Copyright (C) 2009 Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.