The optical band-gap, dielectric and magnetic properties of gadolinium doped sodium bismuth titanate ceramics, Na0.5Bi0.5−xGdxTiO3 (NBT:xGd) with x=0,0.005,0.01,0.015and0.02, sintered by the conventional solid-state reaction were studied at room temperature. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns revealed that the doping with Gd3+ ions into the ceramics resulted in rhombohedrally distorted perovskite structure. The microstructure morphology observed through the Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) are generally submicron level with the presence of micro-pores close to the grain boundary regions. It was found that band-gap energy values, Eg decreased with Gd-doping, being 3.247 and 3.151 eV for x=0 and 0.02, respectively. The dielectric properties of NBT:xGd samples were predominantly due to the interfacial effects at lower frequencies due to the presence of oxygen vacancies. Further, the long-range interaction between the Gd3+ ions changed the diamagnetic behavior in NBT samples to paramagnetic in the NBT:xGd ceramics.
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