Ni doped ZrTiO4 ceramics for dielectric resonator applications

• Published in: Journal of materials science. Materials in electronics Vol. 29; no. 15; pp. 13220 - 13228
• Main Authors: Akhtar, Naadia, Rafique, Hafiz Muhammad, Atiq, Shahid, Aslam, Sana, Razaq, Aamir, Saleem, Murtaza
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01.08.2018; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Characterization and Evaluation of Materials; Chemistry and Materials Science; Dielectric properties; Dielectric relaxation; Electrical properties; Electrical resistivity; Emission analysis; Field emission microscopy; Fourier transforms; Grain boundaries; Impedance; Materials Science; Morphology; Optical and Electronic Materials; Scanning electron microscopy; Sol-gel processes; X-ray diffraction; Zirconium
• ISSN: 0957-4522; 1573-482X
• DOI: 10.1007/s10854-018-9446-9

Structural, morphological, dielectric and electrical properties of Zr 1−x Ni x TiO 4 (x = 0, 0.05, 0.10, 0.15 and 0.2) are studied in this work using X-ray diffraction, field emission scanning electron microscopy and impedance spectroscopic measurements, respectively. The compositions were prepared using sol–gel auto-combustion method and observed to possess the orthorhombic structure with a space group, P nab 60. The Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy inveterated that the combustion was complete. Field emission scanning electron microscopic study reveals that the homogeneity and density of the particles increase with increasing doping concentration. Grain size increases with increasing Ni contents i.e. from 0.25 to 0.5 µm, mostly depicting irregular morphology. Energy dispersive X-ray technique confirmed the presence of Ni, Zr, Ti and O in the prepared materials. Dielectric parameters i.e. dielectric constant and loss decreases with increasing frequency. Conductivity increases with increasing Ni contents and with the increase in frequency. Complex impedance plot shows a single semicircle corresponding to ZrTiO 4 and Ni-doped ZrTiO 4 which determines the dominancy of grain boundary resistance at low frequency. Electric modulus reveals the real dielectric relaxation process.