Effects of Cerium Doping at Ti Sites and Europium Doping at Ba Sites on Dielectric Properties of BaTiO 3 Ceramics

Abstract

Two special rare earth elements cerium and europium were chosen to conduct chemical modification of the BaTiO3 structure. The cold-pressing ceramic processing technique was used to prepare barium titanate ceramics doped with Ce at Ti sites and with Eu at Ba sites on the base of formulas Ba(Ti1-xCex)O3(x =0.05, 0.10)(CBT) and (Ba1-yEuy)Ti1-y/8O3(y=0.05, 0.10)(EBT). Associated with structures and microstructures, the effects of cerium and europium doping on dielectric properties of BaTiO3 ceramics were discussed. The CBT ceramics exhibit a pseudo-cubic perovskite structure, while the EBT ceramics exhibit a tetragonal perovskite structure with the exception of the existence of a small percentage of the Eu2Ti2O7 phase. The Curie peak of BaTiO3 shifts towards room temperature at rates of 3 °C/mol Ce atoms and 10 °C/mol Eu atoms (Eu≤5%), respectively. Compared with the CBT ceramics, the EBT ceramics show significant advantages, such as a narrow fine grain size distribution(1 μm), a lower porosity and a higher density(5.85 g/cm3), more stable dielectric-temperature dependence(ɛ′=1600–1800 at t