Structural and electrical properties of Bi2YSnVO9 ceramic

Abstract

In the present communication, the structural, microstructural, dielectric, and electrical (impedance, conductivity, polarization) characteristics of a new member of the Aurivillius family (Bi2YSnVO9), processed through a high-temperature solid-state reaction method, have been reported. The formation and content of the compound at room temperature have been analyzed by using X-ray diffraction, Raman spectra, and energy dispersive X-ray spectrum. Analysis of frequency and temperature dependence of impedance and electrical modulus spectroscopic data and Nyquist plots has shown the contributions of grains and grain boundaries to the electrical properties of the prepared material. Detailed dielectric characterizations carried out in a broad spectrum of temperature and frequency have helped to explain the polarization and relaxation mechanism of the sample. The appearance of a hysteresis loop at room temperature and an increasing trend of dielectric constant with temperature to get expected peak at high temperature suggests the existence of ferroelectricity in the material, as of other members of the family. The activation energy of the sample is estimated as 1.19 eV which implies the activation of doubly ionized oxygen vacancy and the electrons released conduct via correlated barrier hopping mechanism.