Synthesis, characterization, and dielectric properties of Ba(Ti1-xSnx)O3 nanopowders and ceramics

We prepared Ba(Ti1-xSnx)O-3 powders and ceramics by means of the sol-gel process, with dibutyltin dilaurate as the Sn precursor. The samples were characterized by means of Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy. and scanning electron microscopy, and also determined the dielectric properties of the ceramics. The powders synthesized by means of the sol-gel process had a grain size on the nanometer scale, with the grains mainly composed of a cubic BaTiO3 phase. Sn can disperse into BaTiO3 more uniformly in the sol-gel technique using dibutyltin dilaurate as the Sn precursor. With increasing Sn concentration, the grain size of the Ba(Ti1-xSnx)O-3 ceramics increased and the maximum dielectric constant (epsilon(max)) first increased and then decreased. At a Sn concentration of 5 mol%, epsilon(max) reached its maximum value (19,235). (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.