Vacancy ordering in reduced barium titanate

A crystal structure is proposed for reduced barium titanate, BaTiO3-delta, deltaapproximate to0.33, formed during the degradation of Ni-BaTiO3 X7R multilayer ceramic capacitors. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy and selected-area electron diffraction have been used in combination with computer simulations to show that oxygen vacancies accrete on every third pseudocubic {111} plane, resulting in a cell with space group P3m1. Additionally, from electron energy loss spectroscopy, it is proposed that Ti4+ is reduced to Ti3+ as a mechanism of charge compensation within oxygen-deficient octahedra. (C) 2004 American Institute of Physics.