Crystal structural, morphological and Raman spectroscopy characterizations of Ba0.97La0.02Ti1-xNb4x/5O3 (0.00 < x < 0.10) ceramics

In our present study, we have synthesized polycrystalline ceramics with the chemical composition Ba0.97La0.02Ti(1-x)Nb4x/5O3, denoted as BLTi1-xNb4x/5, where x takes on various values, including 0.00, 0.02, 0.05, 0.07, and 0.10. The materials were prepared through a molten salt method, followed by the formation of powders into pellets, and subsequent sintering at 800 °C for 24 h in the air. Through X-ray diffractometer (XRD), we confirmed that the synthesized ceramics exhibited a tetragonal perovskite structure, and they were found to be in a single phase. Surface characteristics were determined using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). Raman spectroscopic investigations further verified the tetragonal perovskite structure of our materials. Additionally, this analysis revealed the successful incorporation of La3+ ions in place of Ba2+ ions within the A-site and Nb5+ ions substituting for Ti4+ ions within the B-site of the BT lattice. Notably, our study demonstrated the capability to adjust the Raman shifts of essential optical modes. While the majority of Raman shifts remained unchanged, La and Nb doping had a significant impact specifically on the A1[TO3] mode. This mode is associated with the deformation of the oxygen octahedron centered on the central Ti ion, indicating that the influence of these dopant ions primarily pertains to the B-site of the material. •Ba0.97La0.02Ti1-xNb4x/5O3 was prepared by molten-salt method.•The compounds crystallize in the tetragonal structure with P4/mmm space group.•Raman spectroscopy revealed that all samples exhibit the tetragonal perovskite phase with P4/mmm symmetry.•The presences of extra Raman modes are connected with lattice disorder and imperfections.•The extra modes give knowledge into changes from chemical substitutions in our compounds.