Highly tunable multifunctional rare earth based Bi0.5-xCexNa0.5TiO3 perovskites via site selective doping engineering

The high-quality lead-free relaxor-ferroelectric Bi(0.5-x)CexNa(0.5)Ti(O3) (BCNT) electroceramics were fabricated through the modified Pechini method. The influence of cerium dopant on the phase transition, microstructure and shrinkage performances are studied systematically. The temperature played an important role in improving the grain size of the ceramics. The density of heat-treated samples was 4.503, 4.564 and 4.599 g/cm(3). Density value decreased due to cerium doping, but a reverse phenomenon occurred to sintering temperature. The crystallinity BCNT samples sintered at 900 and 1100 C were calculated as 87.11 and 92.93%, respectively. BCNT ceramics showed good performances like increased grain size and significant changes in shrinkage% measurements. The reported measures could be advantageous in case BNT based materials for commercial applications like electrode systems and multi-layered structures.

Automated summary

High-quality lead-free relaxor-ferroelectric BCNT electroceramics were fabricated using the modified Pechini method, and the influence of cerium dopant on the material properties was studied. The doping affected the density and sintering temperature, but had a positive effect on crystallinity. BCNT ceramics showed increased grain size and significant changes in shrinkage, making them suitable for commercial applications such as electrode systems and multi-layered structures.