Ba(Y0.25Zr0.5Nb0.25)O3: A novel three B-sites perovskite synthesis and structural characterization

Abstract

In this study, a new perovskite compound Ba(Y0.25Zr0.5Nb0.25)O3 with three B-site elements is reported. This was successfully synthesized by solid-state reaction method at 1300 °C for 6 h using BaCO3, Y2O3, Nb2O5 and ZrO2 as raw materials. The structural properties of Ba(Y0.25Zr0.5Nb0.25)O3 were studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD) technique and further refined by Rietveld method as well as the transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The result shows that the space group of Ba(Y0.25Zr0.5Nb0.25)O3 is Pm-3 m with lattice constant a= 4.2081 Å. By using the empirical formula with the ionic radius and tolerance factor, the calculated lattice constant (a=4.2079 Å) is similar to the measured value, which also proved that the lattice constant prediction model of ideal perovskites is still applicable to multi-B sites perovskites. Compared with BaZrO3, the partly substitution of Zr atoms by Y and Nb atoms has an improvement on increasement of the lattice constant. This study provides insights into the process of designing new perovskites as buffer materials to solve the lattice mismatch problem for large lattice constant perovskites thin film.