Structural and dielectric characterization of Gd2O3-added BaO-Na2O-Nb2O5-SiO2 glass-ceramic composites

Glass-ceramic composites of the barium-sodium-niobate-silica system, with various amounts of Gd2O3 added, were synthesized through melt casting followed by controlled crystallization. The phase transition, microstructure, microchemistry and dielectric performances of the composites were characterized. The addition of 1 mol% Gd2O3 to the glass ceramics changed the dielectric constant and breakdown strength remarkably, indicating that glass ceramics with this composition are promising dielectric materials for high energy storage density dielectrics. Crown Copyright (C) 2011 Published by Elsevier Ltd. on behalf of Acta Materialia Inc. All rights reserved.