Phase‐transition studies of Ba0.90Ca0.10(Ti1−xZrx)O3 ferroelectric ceramic compounds

Abstract

AbstractPerovskite‐structured Ba0.90Ca0.10(Ti1−xZrx)O3 ceramics were prepared in this work and subsequently studied in terms of composition‐dependent dielectric and high‐resolution long‐range order structural properties from 30 to 450 K. The dielectric response of these materials was measured at several frequencies in the range from 1 kHz to 1 MHz. Combining both techniques, including Rietveld refinement of the X‐ray diffraction data, allowed observing that, when increasing Zr4+ content, the materials change from conventional to diffuse and relaxor ferroelectric compounds, the transition occurring spontaneously at the x = 0.18 composition. Interestingly, this spontaneous transition turned out to be prevented for a further increase of Zr4+. On the basis of all the dielectric and structural results processed, a phase diagram of this system is presented.