Effects of synthesis and sintering temperature in BCT-BST ceramics

Morphology and properties of ceramics are first attributes of synthesis techniques and sitering temperature. In order to understand the effect of synthesis techniques and sintering temperature 0.55(Ba0·9Ca0.1)TiO3-0.45Ba(Sn0·2Ti0.8)O3(BCT-BST) is synthesized by solid state reaction (SSR), sol-gel method and molten-salt methods. The cubic crystal structure of all the synthesized BCT-BST is confirmed by X-ray powder diffraction analysis. Densification temperature varies between 1250 °C and 1400 °C depending on the synthesis technique. The morphology and particle size of each of BCT-BST is studied using scanning electron microscope. Particle size is found to be in the range of 32 nm–60 nm. Dielectric studies on each of BCT-BST are carried out as a function of temperature and frequency. The morphotropic phase boundary is noticed at 71 °C and a high dielectric constant of 18,000 noticed for sol gel synthesized BCT-BST. A soft ferroelectric hysteresis curve is exhibited by each of BCT-BST. •0.55(Ba0·9Ca0.1)TiO3-0.45Ba(Sn0·2Ti0.8)O3 (BCT-BST) is prepared by three different methods.•Densification temperature varies between 1250 °C and 1400 °C depending on the synthesis technique.•The high dielectric constant is achieved around 18 K.•The phase transition is noticed around 71 °C at all the preparation methods.•BCT-BST is a soft ferroelectric material.