Solid state synthesis of niobium and cobalt doped batio3, xrd, structural and enhanced dielectric properties of BaTiO3

The synthesis of the doped BaTiO3 was carried out using the solid state synthesis method. The dopants that used were high purity chemicals of more than 99.9% purity. The dopants used were Niobpentoxide (Nb2O5) of Fluka AG and Cobaltous Chloride Hexahydrate (CuCl26H2O) of Himedia Laboratories. Both the chemicals used were AR grade. The dopants were added as wt% of the basic compound BaTiO3. The final compound was in powder form. For characterization of the sample it was convenient to use them in the form of pellets using Hydraulic Pellet Press (KP Sr 734) of Himaya Engineers. The powder was inserted in the central hole by weight measurements, of radius 0.5 cm. The powder was inserted and the top punch pressed on the sample. The pressure applied was two tons for a period of two minutes. The process was repeated for all the doped samples. The pellets formed were of one cm in diameter and 4mm thick. The x-ray pattern for all the doped samples were taken and compared with standard reference file. The inter planar distance (d) was calculated and found to be in agreement with the standard reference values confirming the perovskite structure of the Nb and Co doped BaTiO3. The SEM of the samples was done on JEOL 6360A Analytical Scanning Electron Microscope. The scanning electron image shows distinctly the uniform distribution of the grains. For the various dopant concentrations it is seen that there is change in the grain size. The dielectric properties of the compound sample were measured on HIOKI 3532 LCR HiTester. The instrument provides a wide range of test frequencies from DC and 42 Hz to 5MHz.