Effect of strontium substitution on the structure and dielectric properties of unfilled tungsten bronze Ba4-xSrxSmFe0.5Nb9.5O30 ceramics

The effects of Sr2+ substitution for Ba2+ on phase structure, microstructure, dielectric and electric properties for Ba4-xSrxSmFe0.5Nb9.5O30 (x = 0, 1, 2, 3 and 4) ceramics were systematically researched. X-ray diffraction patterns show that Ba4-xSrxSmFe0.5Nb9.5O30 (x = 0, 1, 2 and 3) ceramics are tetragonal tungsten bronze compound with a space group of P4bm, while the sample for x = 4 is an orthorhombic structure compound. The result can be corroborated by the analysis of Raman spectroscopy. As the Sr2+ contents increase from 0 to 3, the full width at half maximum of Raman lines of all samples increase gradually, indicating that the degree of lattice distortion increase. All tetragonal tungsten bronze ceramics exhibited a broad permittivity peaks, accompanied by frequency dispersion, indicating all samples are relaxor. The electrical properties of BSSFN ceramics were further studied by complex impedance spectroscopy. XPS spectrum shows that Fe2+ and Fe3+ coexist in Ba4-xSrxSmFe0.5Nb9.5O30 ceramics, and their proportion varies with the concentration of Sr2+.