Evolution of microstructure, dielectric, and electrical properties of Nd-doped BCTO synthesized via semi-wet route

The Bi (2/3)-x Nd x Cu 3 Ti 4 O 12 (BNCTO) ceramic with few selected concentrations ( x = 0.05, 0.10, and 0.20) was fabricated through semi-wet route. The structural properties of synthesized compounds were examined using X-ray diffraction, followed by Rietveld refinement with a space group of Im-3. The crystallite size observed from X-ray diffraction was found in decreasing order with an increase in dopant concentration of Nd 3+ ions in to BCTO ceramic. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive spectra (EDS), atomic force microscope (AFM), and X-photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were used to study the surface morphology, elemental compositions, surface roughness, and electronic state, respectively. Surprisingly, Nd doping can result in an exceptionally low dielectric loss (tan δ), with a minimum value of 0.05 at 1 kHz and 303 K for BNCTO-0.2. These findings show that Nd doping is more favorable to dielectric characteristics, introducing increased grain boundary resistance, activation energy, and lower conductivity.