Mechanistic investigations on the densification behaviour of barium titanate ceramics

The processes occurring during the densification of La_0.002Ba_0.998TiO₃ powders with different SiO₂-containing additives (TiO₂+SiO₂), (CaO+TiO₂+SiO₂), (2BaO+TiO₂+2SiO₂) have been investigated using a step-like annealing of the compacts. The reactions taking place during isothermal dwelling and their effects on the shrinkage rates in the following heating period have been characterized. The samples dwelt for 30 minutes exhibited a higher shrinkage rate than the compacts dwelt for 120 minutes. X-ray diffraction measurements revealed that the differences between both dwelling times are caused by the differences in the structural activity of the powders, i.e. by the reaction-mediated formation and degradation of defects in the surface regions of the BaTiO₃ grains. The process of formation of the Ba₂TiSi₂O₈ phase which acts as a defect source is kinetically preferred to the formation of the Ba₄Ti₁₃O₃₀ phase which acts as a defect drain. Thus, during short dwelling times defect-rich surfaces of the BaTiO₃ grains and/or glass-like intermediates are created. These structures favour the sliding of whole grains and consequently result in high shrinkage rates. The gradual degradation of these thermodynamically unstable structures by the formation of the Ba₄Ti₁₃O₃₀ phase during prolonged dwelling times deteriorates the sliding properties of the grains and reduces the shrinkage rate.     

A simple approach to porous low-temperature-sintering BaTiO3

Porous tetragonal BaTiO 3 ceramic was successfully prepared by a combination of hydrothermal and low-temperature-sintering method.The hollow TiO2@BaCO 3 as the sintering precursor was synthesized via a simple hydrothermal method,and then porous BaTiO 3 was generated by calcining the hollow TiO2@BaCO 3 precursor at 900 ℃ without additive.The hollow TiO2@BaCO 3 structure plays two important roles in the preparing of the porous BaTiO 3 ceramic.First,the TiO2@BaCO 3 hollow structure provides high surface areas and increases the contact points between BaCO 3 and TiO2,which can reduce the sintering temperature of the BaTiO 3 ceramic.Second,the cavity of the ordered arranged TiO2@BaCO 3 hollow sphere shows important influence on the porous structure,and the pore size of the as-prepared porous BaTiO 3 ceramic can be tuned from several nanometers to hundreds nanomters by changing the sintering temperature.The formation mechanism of the porous BaTiO 3 ceramic was proposed.     

New lead-free relaxor ceramics derived from BaTiO3 by cationic heterovalent substitutions in the 12 C.N. crystallographic site

Crystallographic and low frequency dielectric studies were performed on new lead-free ceramics derived from BaTiO₃ by cationic substitutions in the 12 C.N. crystallographic site and having the composition Ba_1−xK_x/2La_x/2TiO₃ or Ba_1−xA_2x/3TiO₃ (A=La, Bi). A classical ferroelectric behaviour was shown for compositions close to BaTiO₃, while a relaxor one occured when the composition deviated from BaTiO₃. In any case, the value of T_C (or T_m) and the relaxor characteristics are higher as x increases. Concerning potassium-free ceramics, bismuth compositions compared with lanthanum ones favoured both high ferroelectric and relaxor characteristics due to the lone pair of Bi³⁺. Such new materials are of interest for environmental friendly applications.     

Topotaxial formation of titanium-rich barium titanates during solid state reactions on (110) TiO2 (rutile) and (001) BaTiO3 single crystals

The orientation relationships of Ti-rich barium titanate phases formed by solid state reactions at high temperatures were studied using (110) TiO₂ (rutile) and (001) BaTiO₃ single-crystal substrates. Well-oriented Ba₆Ti₁₇O₄₀ islands were observed after a vapor–solid reaction of a BaO quantity equivalent to a nominal BaO film thickness of 1 nm with the TiO₂ substrate, whereas a thin film consisting of well-oriented BaTiO₃ and Ba₆Ti₁₇O₄₀ grains was formed after vapor–solid reaction of a BaO quantity equivalent to a nominal BaO film thickness of 50 nm with the rutile substrate. A topotaxial orientation relationship between Ba₆Ti₁₇O₄₀ and TiO₂ was found. Topotaxy is facilitated by a certain similarity in the oxygen sublattices of TiO₂ and Ba₆Ti₁₇O₄₀. The mechanism of the reaction occurring between BaO vapor and the TiO₂ surface at high temperature is discussed. On the other hand, several well-oriented Ba₄Ti₁₃O₃₀, Ba₆Ti₁₇O₄₀ and Ba₂Ti₅O₁₂ phases were observed to be embedded in the mainly forming Ba₂TiSi₂O₈ phase after a solid–solid reaction of amorphous SiO₂ thin films with (001) BaTiO₃ substrates at temperatures above 1000 °C. They were formed by a topotaxial reaction involving the transformation of (111) planes of BaTiO₃ into (001) planes of the Ti-rich phases by removal of BaO and insertion of TiO₂. Cross-sections of the interfaces between the substrates and the various reaction products are studied by (high-resolution) transmission electron microscopy.     

Raman microscopic investigations of BaTiO<Subscript>3</Subscript> precursors with core–shell structure

Due to their outstanding dielectric and ferroelectric properties, barium titanate (BaTiO₃)-based ceramics have found many applications in electronic devices. To optimise the final quality of such ceramics, a detailed knowledge of the complex processes involved in the formation of BaTiO₃ is required. The phase formation process in ordered structures of the BaCO₃/TiO₂ system was analysed by X-ray diffraction and by Raman spectral imaging (RSI) as a function of the annealing temperature. RSI was used for the first time as a locally resolving method for phase analysis, and proved to be a useful tool in examining the formation process of BaTiO₃ starting from spherical, core–shell structured precursors of the type TiO₂ core/BaCO₃ shell. The Raman spectra of different BaO–TiO₂ phases appearing as intermediate phases during the formation of BaTiO₃ were recorded for separately-prepared pure substances. Using these spectra as fingerprints, and choosing phase filters by setting wave number windows, phase landscape pictures of the samples at different temperatures during the genesis of BaTiO₃ could be created with a lateral resolution of up to 200 nm. These pictures confirm shell-like formation of the different barium titanate phases according to the diffusion of barium and oxygen ions from the Ba-rich shell into the TiO₂ core. At an intermediate state of the phase formation process, the phase sequence Ba₂TiO₄, BaTiO₃, BaTi₂O₅, BaTi₄O₉ and BaTi₅O₁₁ to TiO₂ was detected from the outer to the inner parts of the core–shell structures.     

Preparation of high homogeneity BaO-TiO2-SiO2 gel

In BaO-TiO₂-SiO₂ system, crystallization from various gel by heating depended on the sol-gel processes and gel homogeneity. Through the condensation reaction of Si(OAc)₄ and TiAcAc(O ⁱ Pr)₃ in tetrahydrofuran solvent, homogeneous TiO₂-SiO₂ sol with oligomers of relatively large molecular weight was obtained. The gel prepared by mixing the binary sol, Ba(OAc)₂, and Si(OMe)₄ was the most homogeneous in term of suppression of crystallization. By heating the above gel, only Ba₂TiSi₂O₈ crystal appeared, which was observed in a melt quenched glass. In the case of the gels made by other sol-gel processes, TiO₂ or BaTiO₃ crystal was first observed from the heated gels prior to the precipitation of Ba₂TiSi₂O₈.     

室温固态反应制备纳米Ba1－xSrxTiO3固溶体及其结构与介电性能研究

采用室温固态反应合成了一系列Ba_1－xSr_xTiO₃固溶体纳米粉末(0≤x≤1.0). 经XRD物相分析和d-间距-组成图证明, 产品为立方晶系的完全互溶取代固溶体. TEM形貌观察, 粒子基本为球形, 平均粒径40 nm. 该方法具有产率高, 无需溶剂, 对环境无污染等优点. 通过制陶实验, 分别测定了该系列固溶体的室温介电常数、介电损失以及介电常数随温度的变化. 结果发现, 采用室温固态反应在BaTiO₃中掺入适量锶, 由于掺杂离子均匀进入母体晶格, 引起居里点降低, 室温介电常数达11000以上, 介电损耗由BaTiO₃纯相的0.03 (3%)降为0.008 (0.8%). 纳米粉体的烧结温度为1180 ℃, 比传统微米级粉体的烧结温度降低100～150 ℃.     

Physics and Chemistry of Creating New Titanates with Perovskite Structure

The phase formation, structural features, and dielectric, ferroelectric, and piezoelectric properties of ceramics with compositions from the region of the morphotropic phase boundary in the (Na_0.5Bi_0.5)TiO₃–BaTiO₃–Bi(Mg_0.5Ti_0.5)O₃ system modified by different low-melting additives (Bi₂O₃, V₂O₅, KCl, NaCl–LiF, LiF, CuO, and MnO₂) are studied. First-order phase transitions are detected near 700–800 and 400 K that display relaxor behavior and are indicative of the presence of polar regions in a nonpolar matrix. Prospects for improving the piezoelectric properties of the modified ceramic samples are confirmed.     

Nd-doped barium titanate ceramics with various Ti/Ba ratios prepared by sol-gel method

The Nd-doped BaTiO₃ nanocrystalline powders and ceramics with different Ti/Ba ratios were prepared by sol-gel method. Phases and microstructures of the Nd-doped BaTiO₃ based powders and ceramics were characterized by XRD, SEM and TEM methods. The results revealed that the powders synthesized by sol-gel method were nanometer scale (30 – 60 nm) and were mainly composed of cubic BaTiO₃ with a small amount of BaCO₃. After sintering at high temperature, both cubic BaTiO₃ and BaCO₃ were transformed into tetrahedron BaTiO₃ phase. The dielectric properties of the ceramics were also determined and the influence of Ti/Ba ratio on the dielectric properties was discussed. The T_c did not change with the variation of Ti/Ba ratio, while the ?_max increased firstly and then decreased. The excess TiO₂ is benefit for the modification of ceramics’ microstructure and dielectric properties.     

Dielectric and energy storage properties of barium strontium titanate based glass–ceramics prepared by sol–gel method

Ba_0.6Sr_0.4TiO₃ based glass–ceramics were prepared by sol–gel process. Influences of B–Si–O glass content on the microstructure, dielectric, and energy storage properties of the BST based glass–ceramics have been investigated. Perovskite barium strontium titanate phase was found at annealing temperature 800 °C. A secondary phase Ba₂TiSi₂O₈ was detected and lowered by declining the mole ratio of element Si (from 50 to 25 mol%) in glass additive. Microstructural observation indicated that the microstructure homogeneity can be improved by glass addition till 2 mol%, while worsened by excessive glass concentrations. Due to relatively homogeneous microstructure, the maximum discharged energy density and breakdown strength were also obtained in samples with 2 mol% glass additive, which were found to be 0.553 J/cm³ and 43.2 kv/mm, respectively. Microscopic observation of the breakdown area was performed and the mechanical failure, including the formation and accumulation of micro-cracks during the dielectric breakdown process, was considered to be the main cause of dielectric breakdown. Results of the charging and discharging energy densities show that the BST based glass–ceramics prepared by sol–gel method has a potential for pulse power applications.     

Ba Titanate and Barium/Strontium Titanate Thin Films from Hydroxide Precursors: Preparation and Ferroelectric Behavior

Randomly oriented ferroelectric BaTiO₃ and (Ba_0.6Sr_0.4) TiO₃ thin films on platinum coated Si (100) were prepared by a sol-gel method. The precursor solutions were derived from barium hydroxide or a mixture of barium/strontium hydroxides dissolved in acetic acid and titanium butoxide. Polarization versus applied voltage hysteresis studies indicated a remanent polarization of 3 µC/cm² and a coercive field of 43.4 kV/cm for BaTiO₃ films annealed at 800°C for 1 h. Corresponding parameters for (Ba_0.6Sr_0.4)TiO₃ films annealed at 800°C were found to be 7.2 µC/cm² and 102.7 kV/cm, respectively. Microstructural study of the surface morphology of these films indicated grains of less than 0.1 µm in size. The leakage current for (Ba_0.6Sr_0.4)TiO₃ films was found to be two orders of magnitude lower than that for BaTiO₃ films.     

The reactivities of TiO2 (rutile and anatase) for the solid-state reactions with BaSO4 and BaCO3

DTA and isothermal kinetic studies were carried out on the reactions of BaSO₄ or BaCO₃ with TiO₂ (anatase and rutile) to BaTiO₃. In the initial steps, the reactions of BaSO₄ with TiO₂ (anatase) proceeded to BaTi₄O₉, of BaSO₄ with TiO₂ (rutile) to BaTi₃O₇, and of BaCO₃ with TiO₂ (anatase and rutile) to Ba₂TiO₄, respectively. These reactions were connected with the formation of binary metal oxide through some intermediates, which are BaSO₄ or BaCO₃ incorporated with TiO₂. The reactivity of anatase was higher than that of rutile in all reaction systems.     

Preparation and Dielectric Properties of Mn-Doped Ba0.6Sr0.4TiO3-MgTiO3 Composite Ceramics

Barium strontium titanate (Ba_0.6Sr_0.4TiO₃, BST) nano-powders were prepared using Ba(NO₃)₂, Sr(NO₃)₂, oxalic acid dehydrate, and tetrabutyl titanate (Ti(OC4H9)4) as precursors by the chemical co-precipitation method. The product was characterized by thermogravimetry-differential scanning calorimetry (TG-DSC) thermal analyses, X-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The experimental results indicated that the resulting Ba_0.6Sr_0.4TiO₃ nano-powders were homogeneous with agglomerated nature. The Ba_0.6Sr_0.4TiO₃-MgTiO₃ (BST-MT) bulk composite ceramics doped by Mn were obtained by the traditional solid phase method. The XRD patterns demonstrated that Mn-doped BST was unable to change the perovskite crystalline structure of BST materials. SEM photographs revealed that the crystalline grains became larger with increasing the content of doping Mn (<1.5% (x, molar fraction)) and then the size of grains decreased after the Mn content exceeded 1.5% in the BST ceramics, suggesting the effect of Mn doping on the morphologies of BST-MT composites. The dielectric properties of BST-MT composite ceramics doped with 0.1%-2.0% (x) Mn were investigated systematically. Two effects of Mn doping on the dielectric properties of the BST-MT composite ceramics were observed. At low Mn doping concentrations (<1.5%), Mn mainly acted as an acceptor dopant to replace Ti at the B site of ABO3 perovskite structure, leading to a diffused phase transition. It was also observed that the grain size increased drastically as the Mn content increased and thus caused the decrease of dielectric loss. At higher Mn doping concentrations (>1.5%), the grain size decreased and the suppression of permittivity and the drastic increase of the dielectric losses were observed, which indicated a “composite” mixing effect.     

Nanocomposite Polymer Electrolytes for the Lithium Power Sources (a Review)

Nanocomposite polymer electrolytes represent a perspective class of polymer electrolytes for electrochemical devices in which nanodisperse filler is introduced to the “solvating matrix + lithium salt” base composition. This three-section paper reviews studies devoted to the preparing and investigating of different types of novel nanocomposite polymer electrolytes for lithium power sources carried out for the last 15 years. Its first section is devoted to the solid nanocomposite polymer electrolyte consisting of polyethylene oxide, lithium salt, and nanodisperse filler (Al₂O₃, TiO₂, SiO₂, etc.); the second section, to nanocomposite polymer membranes based on the polyvinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene that can be used as a substitute for inert polyolefine separator of polypropylene, polyethylene, or their alternating layers. It is this type of the nanocomposite polymer electrolytes that is the most perspective one; the great majority of publications are dedicated to this electrolyte. The third section of the review covers the studies of the nanocomposite polymer electrolytes based on different polymers, oligomers, and co-polymers prepared by different methods. Nanoparticles of Al₂O₃, TiO₂, SiO₂, ZnO, MgO, Fe₃O₄, Ca₃(PO₄)2, ZrO₂, clay, ferroelectric ceramics SrBi₄Ti₄O₁₅, a compound SO₄^2-–ZrO₂, molecular sieves, nanochitin, etc., are discussed as possible additives to the nanocomposite polymer electrolytes. The reference list contains 101 items.     

Determination of the chemical composition of supported vanadium-containing oxide catalysts by the differential dissolution method

The results of the application of the stoichiographic method of differential dissolution (DD) in the determination of the chemical composition of vanadium-containing catalysts are presented. In the studied catalyst series, amounts of vanadium were deposited onto TiO₂, SiO₂, Al₂O₃, ZrO₂, and Nb₂O₅. The catalysts were prepared by the impregnation method or by the spray drying method and thermally treated at different temperatures. The DD method was used for the precise correction of the phase composition of the V₂O₅/TiO₂ catalyst samples in order to determine the nature of the active component of these catalysts and obtain the correct information on their structure using the NMR method.     

Investigation of the thermal degradation of the aged pyrotechnic titanium hydride/potassium perchlorate

In previous works, the effects on the devitrification mechanism of a certain composition calcium phosphate with additives of TiO₂, SiO₂, Al₂O₃, CeO₂ have been studied. It was found that some metal oxide additives played a key role as the nucleation agent in calcium phosphate glass-ceramics, and the devitrification mechanism of calcium phosphate glass system was changed drastically by addition such as metal oxide. Hydroxyapatite (HAp), tricalcium phosphate (TCP) and β-calcium phosphate (β-CaP₂O₆) whisker are the three most biologically compatible materials to human bone in bio-ceramics field. In this work, the effect on devitrification mechanism and the physical properties of certain composition calcium phosphate glass with three above additives were investigated, and the result shown that although no fine crystalline was induced in the certain composition of calcium phosphate glass when a large amount of additive was added, but such additives play a catalyst role by lowering the activation energies of devitrification. It would supplement the mechanical properties and the biocompatibility for the calcium phosphate glasses.     

Powderless processing of ceramics: Thin-layer electroceramics

A review is made of progress on the sol-gel processing of dense insulating electroceramics by polymeric condensation routes. Up until the past ten years, powders and porous coatings were principally made for optical and conductive applications. Much effort was expended on silica (SiO₂) and silicate-based systems. Recently, these approaches have been extended to non-silicate systems [1]. In this paper information is presented for the powderless processing of selected electroceramics in thin-layer form. Materials include PbTiO₃, BaTiO₃, Ba_1–x Pb _x TiO₃, PbZrO₃, Pb(Zr_1–y Ti _y )O₃ and (Pb_1–x La _x )(Zr_1–y Ti _y )O₃ which find applications in ceramic capacitors, piezoelectric transducers and electrooptic modulators. The approach is to avoid powders, and the attendent problems of powder handling, flow, packing, etc., and make use of polymerization condensation reactions to form extended networks with chemical linkage. Data are reported for the synthesis and low temperature processing routes for amorphous and polycrystalline ceramics.     

Synthesis and photocatalytic activity of mesoporous SiO<Subscript>2</Subscript>–TiO<Subscript>2</Subscript>

Mesoporous SiO₂–TiO₂ was synthesized by the sol–gel method using Si(OC₂H₅)₄, Ti(OC₂H₅)₄, and stearyltrimethylammonium chloride. By using acetylacetone as the capping agent of Ti(OC₂H₅)₄, homogeneous SiO₂–TiO₂ composite was obtained. Spherical mesoporous SiO₂–TiO₂ was also synthesized by the sol–gel method using W/O emulsion under microwave irradiation. The specific surface area of these mesoporous SiO₂–TiO₂ materials decreased when the Ti/Si molar ratio was higher than 0.1, which indicated that Ti was homogeneously distributed in mesoporous SiO₂ matrix at Ti/Si ≦ 0.1. The photocatalytic activity of mesoporous SiO₂–TiO₂ materials was investigated by the degradation of methylene-blue in water under UV light irradiation. Mesoporous SiO₂–TiO₂ was effective for the adsorption–decomposition of methylene-blue.     

Synthesis and Structural Analysis of Au-Doped TiO2/SiO2 Mixed Oxide Films Prepared by Sol-Gel Process

The systematic modifications of silica matrix as a function of modified Ti-alkoxide contents (Au nanocrystals doped TiO₂/SiO₂ mixed oxide thin films) have been investigated by the sol-gel process. A structural analysis on the various steps of the hydrolysis-condensation process as well as solid powder is determined by IR, UV-Visible, and ²⁹Si NMR spectroscopy. ²⁹Si MAS spectra are characterized by broad lines for the three types of sites. Different distributions (Q ², Q ³, and Q ⁴ units) observed in the TiO₂/SiO₂ (1 : 3) sample. Proper control of the process condition, modifying the Ti alkoxide as a less reactive precursor, improves the increase the amount of Ti–O–Si bonding in the silica network of TiO₂/SiO₂ mixed oxide matrices and the distribution of metal oxides. This method can be used for the preparation of homogeneous metal and metal-metal alloy nanocrystals deposition from mixed oxide thin films.     

A review: Influence of divalent,trivalent, rare earth and additives ions on Ni–Cu–Zn ferrites

From several decades, researchers were fabricated the materials like ferrites, perovskites, ceramic, metal oxides, chalcogenides, etc. and investigated its properties for numerous useful applications. Among all the materials, ferrites are more useful in technological and industrial application purpose. In modern era of technology, ferrites in the form of a nano scales are be the soul of electronic and electrical components. Due to the noticeable versatile properties like high resistivity, moderate permeability, low dielectric loss and moderate sensitivity researcher's shifts their theoretical and technological point of view from other materials to ferrites. The scientists from chemistry, physics, material science and metallurgy are trying to achieve the desirable electric, magnetic, optical and sensing properties of nanoferrites by optimizing its parameters like chemical composition, synthesis methods, addition of impurity, sintering conditions etc. In this review we investigated an influence of substitution or doping of divalent (Ni²⁺, Cu²⁺, Zn²⁺, Mn²⁺, Mg²⁺ etc.), trivalent (Cr³⁺, Al³⁺, In³⁺, WO³⁺ etc.), rare earth (La³⁺, Sm³⁺, Y³⁺, Nd³⁺, Dy³⁺, Tb³⁺, Tm³⁺ etc.) metal ions and addition of additive (MnO₂, SiO₂, TiO₂, BaTiO₃, PbO, V₂O₅ etc.) in Ni–Cu–Zn ferrites. Researchers successfully transforms the Ni–Cu–Zn properties in a way that, industrialists utilized it for various applicative products such as in Li-Ion battery, super capacitors, EM filters, magnetic recording media, micro-inductors, biofuel production, gas sensors, humidity sensors etc. In nutshell, review is a complete combination of preparation methods, impact of divalent, trivalent, rare earth and additives on Ni–Cu–Zn nanoferrite with its useful applications.