Ferroelectric and Dielectric Behavior of Samarium-Substituted Bi4Ti3O12 Nanomaterials Synthesized by Gel Combustion Method

Abstract

Samarium (Sm) substituted bismuth titanate (Bi4Ti3O12, BT) nanoparticles with compositions of Bi4−xSmxTi3O12 (BSmT) (where x = 0.0, 0.25, 0.50, 0.75, 1.0) were prepared by using the gel combustion method. X-ray diffraction pattern of prepared nanoparticles confirmed that all the BSmT compositions were of the single phase orthorhombic structure with the space group of B2ab. The dielectric loss at 100 Hz varied from 0.0925 to 0.056 with an increase in Samarium content. Dielectric loss confirmed the lower leakage current of BSmT nanoparticles. The ferroelectric behavior of BSmT nanoparticles showed that the Bi3.50Sm0.50Ti3O12 had good ferroelectric property and also had minimum leakage current. The increase of coercive field (Ec) and the increase of remnant polarizations (Pr) were pronounced with the increase in Sm content confirming to the fact that the substitution of Sm3+ had improved the ferroelectric properties of BT.