Abstract
New glass–ceramic (GC) nanocrystals of xBaTiO3–(80–x)V2O5–20PbO glasses (where x = 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 mol%) were synthesized via heat treatment at crystallization peak temperature (Tp) according to DSC thermograms. XRD together with dielectric measurements and E-P hysteresis loop were used to evaluate the microstructural and ferroelectric characteristics. Combining these methods made it feasible to improve the conditions for the production of the obtained nanomaterial and to identify correspondences among its nanostructure and ferroelectric features. The ability of appropriate heat treatment to transform glasses into nanocrystalline materials with crystallites smaller than 60 nm embedded in the glassy matrix was demonstrated by XRD measurements. The present glasses’ fulfilled dielectric constant values do not show any ferroelectric behavior. Nevertheless, by thermal treatment of the glass system at Tp, GC nanocrystals exhibited an average broad peak of around 330 K in the dielectric constant. The Curie temperature of BaTiO3 with particle size smaller than 100 nm is extremely close to the average Curie temperature of 338 K measured in the current glass system. By properly adjusting teat-treatment time and BaTiO3 content, this finding of these samples can be employed to manage BaTiO3 crystal size and, consequently, transition temperature. As a result, the glass–ceramic samples segregated with nanocrystalline BaTiO3 are supported by this result’s dipolar direction and phase transition. A GC nanocrystal has an intentional energy storage density of 104 mJ cm−3. These findings indicate that the current glass–ceramic nanocrystals are a promising material for creating energy storage devices.