Synthesis, Structural, and Electrical Properties of Pure PbTiO3 Ferroelectric Ceramics

Abstract

Single-phase polycrystalline samples of lead titanate with perovskite structure have been synthesized using solid-state reaction technique. The processing parameters have been optimized to obtain phase pure, dense, crack-free, and homogeneous samples. The sintering behavior of PT-powders has been investigated using X-ray diffraction patterns. The X-ray powder diffraction data have been analyzed to confirm the phase formation and phase purity, to obtain unit cell parameters and unit cell volume. The porosity of the samples has been obtained through X-ray density and bulk density. The average particle sizes of the phase pure samples were obtained from the X-ray peak width using Scherrer’s formula. The influence of sintering temperature and time on the microstructure of samples has also been studied by carrying out SEM investigations. The notable feature of this microstructure study shows that the samples sintered at 900°C for 12 hours possess a fairly uniform grain distribution. The electrical behavior (complex impedance Z*, complex permittivity ε*, etc.) of the samples sintered at 900°C for 12 hours has been studied by complex impedance spectroscopy. The temperature variation of real permittivity gives evidence of the ferroelectric phase transition as well as of the relaxation behavior.