Effect of neodymium substitution on structural and ferroelectric properties of BNT ceramics

Polycrystalline specimens of (Bi1-xNdx)(0.5)Na0.5TiO3 (BNNT) ceramic system with compositions x <= 0.04 were synthesized by semi-wet technique using ethylene glycol precursor. Structural and electrical properties were investigated in detail to observe the effect of neodymium (Nd) substitution in BNT system. XRD patterns for all the specimens showed single phase formation with rhombohedral structure. Field emission scanning electron micrographs (FE-SEM) revealed that the grain growth was inhibited significantly with Nd content. The temperature dependence behaviour of dielectric constant revealed that the depolarisation temperature 'T-d' decreases whereas temperature of maximum dielectric constant 'T-m' increases with Nd concentration. The piezoelectric charge coefficient (d(33)) showed maxima at x = 0.02 and well defined ferroelectric behaviour was observed for all the samples. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.