Abstract
Complex impedance analysis of a valence-compensated perovskite ceramic oxide Na1/2Sm1/2TiO3, prepared by a mixed oxide (solid-state reaction) method, has been carried out. The formation of single-phase material was confirmed by X-ray diffraction studies, and it was found to be an orthorhombic phase at room temperature. In a scanning electron microscope, grains separated by well-defined boundaries are visible, which is in good agreement with that of impedance analysis. Alternating current impedance measurements were made over a wide temperature range (31–400 °C) in an air atmosphere. Complex impedance and modulus plots helped to separate out the contributions of grain and grain boundaries to the overall polarization or electrical behavior. The physical structure of the samples was visualized most prominently at higher temperatures (275 °C) from the Nyquist plots showing inter- and intragranular impedance present in the material. The frequency dependence of electrical data is also analyzed in the framework of the conductivity and modulus formalisms. The bulk resistance, evaluated from the impedance spectrum, was observed to decrease with rise in temperature, showing a typical negative temperature coefficient of resistance-type behavior like that of semiconductors. The modulus mechanism indicates the non-Debye type of conductivity relaxation in the materials, which is supported by the impedance data.
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