Structural, Electrical, Magnetic and Optical Properties of BaTi1-x(Ni1/2Nb1/2)xO3 Ceramics

Abstract In this work, we have investigated the structural, electrical, magnetic and optical properties of Ni-Nb co-doped BaTiO3 ceramics. The compositions of BaTi1 − x(Ni1/2Nb1/2)xO3 were prepared through conventional solid-state reaction method. All the samples exhibit a gradual phase transition behavior from the tetragonal to a cubic structure with the increase of Ni-Nb co-doping concentration. The temperature dependence of the dielectric constant reveals that the transition temperature gradually decreased with an increase in Ni2+ and Nb5+ concentrations. The ferroelectric studies show these doping samples have relatively full ferroelectric hysteresis loops at room temperature, but exhibit a decreasing ferroelectric property with the increasing level of doping. The magnetic measurement suggests that these samples have ferromagnetic ordering at room temperature with an increase in the Ni-Nb doping. Moreover, band gaps of these samples are obviously reduced through the strategy of co-doping.