Dielectric Relaxation Study of Multiferroic BiFe0.95(Ni0.5Ti0.5)0.05O3

The doping of BiFeO3 (BFO) with 5% of Ni and Ti to form the composition BiFe0.95(Ni0.5Ti0.5)0.05O3 (BFNT05) was prepared via a solid state reaction technique. X-ray diffraction (XRD) shows that the prepared ceramic has a pure-phase perovskite structure with rhombohedral symmetry. Thermal evolution of the permittivity reveals a large value of permittivity accompanied by a strong dispersion. This evolution indicates a dielectric anomaly at around 520 K near the Néel temperature (TN), which supports a strong magneto-dielectric coupling. The dielectric dispersion in BFNT05 was studied by the measurement of the permittivity over a wide frequency range from 20 Hz to 1 MHz at different temperatures 300–700 K. The experimental dielectric data was described by the Cole–Cole relaxation equation modified by introducing the conductivity. Modified impedance and modulus expressions were used successfully as tools to separate the contribution from grains and grain boundaries of BFNT05. The calculated bulk grain conductivity indicated an anomalous behavior near the temperature related to the antiferro-paramagnetic phase transition of the corresponding BFNT05 ceramic. In contrast, this ceramic exhibited a predominant grain boundaries behavior at the studied temperature and frequency range. In this case, they were the elements responsible for dielectric dispersion, and also they played an important role in the improvement of the dielectric behavior of this ceramic. The ac conductivity study confirmed the modified impedance and modulus expressions.