Abstract
We have investigated the structural, ferroelectric, dielectric and magnetic properties of Sm doped BaTiO3 ceramics. The compositions of Ba1−xSmxTiO3, (0.0 ≤ x ≤ 0.05) were prepared using the solid state reaction synthesis. The Rietveld refinement of XRD pattern warranted the tetragonal phase structure with P4/mm space group. The crystallites size calculated using XRD pattern was found in 24–40 nm range. The P-E hysteresis loop measurements elucidated an enhancement in the spontaneous polarization with Sm doping and revealed the highest values of remnant, saturation polarization and coercivity for 5% Sm-BaTiO3 (BTO) sample. The value of dielectric constant estimated as a function of frequency and compositions, found to decrease with increasing frequency and Sm doping content. The AC conductivity, impedance spectra and UV–Vis spectra were affected drastically via Sm doping. The relative low band gap ranging between 2.1 and 2.6 eV, indicates that the Sm-BTO samples having a semiconductor nature and can be utilized in visible range photons harvesting devices. The magnetic measurements suggested that the samples have ferromagnetic ordering at room temperature. Our studies point out that the properties of BTO ferroelectric ceramic can be modulated via Sm doping.
•XRD investigation revealed the stability of the structure for undoped and Sm doped BTO.•Maximum value of dielectric constant has been observed to be 1864.55 at 10 Hz for 1% Sm doped BTO.•The increased value of AC conductivity with frequency indicated the role of grain boundaries and defects.•The fitting of Cole-Cole plot gives evidence for bulk resistance.•The band gap increases with increasing doping concentration.