Influence of preparation procedure on some physical properties of BICUVOX

Abstract

The influence of preparation conditions on some physical properties of BICUVOX.10 (Bi 2V 0.90Cu 0.10O 5.35) is reported. Differential thermal and X-ray analyses indicate that synthesis of the compound can be accomplished at 610 °C. The densification characteristics show that high density BICUVOX ceramic can be obtained after several minutes of sintering at 800 °C. The electrical conductivity was studied by a.c. impedance methods. Separation of the contributions of grain interiors and grain boundaries to the total resistance was possible at temperatures below around 350 °C. The Arrhenius plots of the total conductivity consist of two straight line sections with a change in slope at around 500 °C. The activation energy was about 0.48 eV at high temperatures for all the samples. Below around 500 °C the activation energy was in the range from 0.62 to 0.72 eV depending on the preparation procedure. Lower values of activation energy and higher values of conductivity were obtained for well-sintered samples, which is related to the smaller contribution of the grain boundaries to the total electrical resistance of a sample.