Analysis of the electrical transport, conductivity, and dielectric relaxation behavior of La0.75 Ba0.10 Sr0.15 Fe O2.875-δ (δ = 0.375 and 0.50) brownmillerite oxides

Abstract

The topotactic reduction of La0.75Ba0.10Sr0.15FeO2.875 with titanium metal leads to a new isostructural material of the composition La0.75Ba0.10Sr0.15FeO2.875-δ (δ = 0.375 and 0.50). XRD analysis of phases confirms that the obtained compound adopts a brownmillerite-type structure. A slight distorted monoclinic P2/m was found to describe the crystal structure. The transport properties have been investigated by current–voltage (I–V). The electric and dielectric measurements were carried out covering a wide range of temperature (300–600 K). Our materials display semiconducting properties as well as mixed ionic and electronic conductivity. At high temperatures, the activation energy values proved to be around 907–630 meV, which refers basically to oxygen vacancies conduction. The analysis of dielectric properties and dielectric losses (ε’, tanδ) of both compounds vs temperature at different frequencies demonstrates two relaxer attitudes. A low dielectric loss and low electrical conductance were displayed. Relying upon these values, these materials stand for perfect candidates for micro-electronics devices.