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Characterization of Fine‐Grained Bismuth Vanadate Ceramics Obtained Using Nanosized Powders
Author(s) -
Shantha Kundapura,
Varma Kalidindi B. R.
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
journal of the american ceramic society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.9
H-Index - 196
eISSN - 1551-2916
pISSN - 0002-7820
DOI - 10.1111/j.1151-2916.2000.tb01342.x
Subject(s) - materials science , ceramic , bismuth vanadate , bismuth , dielectric , nanocrystalline material , microstructure , grain size , crystallite , mineralogy , nanoceramic , analytical chemistry (journal) , composite material , metallurgy , nanotechnology , chemistry , biochemistry , optoelectronics , chromatography , photocatalysis , catalysis
Nanocrystalline bismuth vanadate (n‐BiV) powders with a crystallite size of <50 nm have been prepared, at room temperature, by subjecting a stoichiometric mixture of bismuth oxide and vanadium pentoxide to mechanical activation. The n‐BiV powders show enhanced sinterability, in comparison to the conventionally prepared micrometer‐sized bismuth vanadate (m‐BiV) powders and yield ceramics with a uniform microstructure. High‐density (∼98% of the theoretical value), fine‐grained (average grain size of ∼2 μm) ceramics, obtained using n‐BiV have a high dielectric constant and a high pyroelectric coefficient and are associated with low dielectric loss, both at room temperature and at the transition temperature. These fine‐grained ceramics show diffused phase transition and relaxor behavior, which are attributed to the irregular distribution of defects and/or compositional inhomogeneities in these ceramics. The fine‐grained ceramics exhibit ferroelectric hysteresis loops with higher remanent polarization and lower coercive field values than the coarse‐grained ceramics.