Effect of neodymium doping on structural, microscopic and electrical properties of barium phosphate system

Abstract

Neodymium-doped barium phosphate (NdBP) was prepared as single crystal by room temperature solution technique known as gel encapsulation technique. Single crystal X-ray diffraction shows that the crystal belongs to orthorhombic system. The flower type morphology was observed by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and the stoichiometric composition of the prepared crystal was observed by energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDAX). The presence of functional group and other groups was studied by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The electrical properties of these materials like dielectric constant (ε′), dielectric loss (tanδ) and ac conductivity [ln(σac)] was studied at different temperatures ranging from 40°C to 420°C in the frequency range of 5 kHz to 1 MHz. The activation energy values decreases with increase in frequency suggesting that the conduction mechanism is because of hopping of charge carriers.