Evaluation of structural and functional differences in BaTi0.96Sn0.04O3 ceramics sintered by conventional and microwave techniques
摘要
This work focuses on synthesizing BaTi0.96Sn0.04O3 (BSnT4) ceramics utilizing the solid-state reaction technique, followed by sintering using conventional sintering (CS) and microwave sintering (MWS) for comparison. X-ray diffraction (XRD) verified the formation of a tetragonal perovskite structure (P4mm space group) in both methods, with minor changes in Ti/Sn and oxygen atomic occupation, indicating better dopant distribution in MWS samples. Microstructural examinations found that CS samples had more significant grain sizes and less porosity, while MWS samples had finer grains. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) revealed the oxidation states of components and defects caused by Sn doping, which impacted the electronic structure. The dielectric study demonstrated that both approaches lowered permittivity with increasing frequency, with the MWS samples showing a more significant decline and more considerable dielectric losses. The optical investigation revealed that MWS samples had a slightly greater bandgap (2.93 eV) than CS samples (2.88 eV), which might be related to defect levels and lattice distortion. The ferroelectric study revealed superior polarization behavior in CS samples, with well-saturated P–E loops at lower electric fields. In contrast, MWS samples showed non-classical hysteresis loops with considerable energy loss. The results indicate that, although MWS has benefits such as faster processing and better dopant distribution, CS is more successful at producing ideal dielectric and ferroelectric characteristics suited for capacitor applications.