Structural and dielectric properties of Eu3+,B3+ co-doped CoNb2O6 ceramic

The boron co-doped CoNb2O6:xEu3+, yB3+ (x=1, 3, 6, 9, 12 mol%, y=10 mol%) ceramics were obtained by the molten salt method, which has advantageous properties such as short reaction time, low sintering temperature, improved homogeneity, and crystallinity. The ceramic samples were examined by structural and dielectric analyses. In X-ray diffractions, the orthorhombic columbite type CoNb2O6 structure was obtained, and also a minor EuNbO4 phase was detected with increasing Eu3+ doping concentrations. Additionally, increasing Eu3+ concentration led to a slight increase in crystallite size, and two theta peak shifts occurred towards higher angles associated with shrinkage in the lattice or reduction in the lattice constant. In SEM examinations, a slight increase was observed in grain sizes from 1 to 9 mol% Eu3+ in the range of 1-30 m, while some decrease occurred in grain sizes at 12 mol%, and there was an evident increase in plate-shaped and elongated grains. The dielectric constant (ε') of the ceramic samples increased with increasing Eu3+ concentration and reached approximately 35 and 0.24 at 20 Hz for 9 mol% Eu3+, respectively. The increase in dielectric loss with increasing Eu3+ was associated with an increase in ionic conductivity, in which Eu3+ substitution does not suppress oxygen vacancies or make them more ordered.