Impact of Annealing Temperature on the Dielectric Properties of SmCrO3

We have investigated the impact of annealing temperature on the dielectric properties of \documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$$SmCrO_3$$\end{document} synthesized at two different annealing temperatures: 1073 K and 1673 K, resulting in samples with average grain sizes of approximately 150 nm (S150) & 350 nm (S350), respectively. X-ray diffraction patterns confirm the single-phase orthorhombic structure with the Pnma (no. 62) space group. Temperature and frequency-dependent dielectric analysis show a prominent dependence of the dielectric behavior on annealing temperature. The S150 samples exhibited lower dielectric permittivity and dielectric loss compared to S350 samples. Interestingly, a distinctive step-like anomaly has been observed in the dielectric response of the S150 sample below 100 K. Activation energy values, obtained from Arrhenius fits, consistently fall within the 0.2 eV to 0.4 eV range above 100 for both samples, indicating a similar relaxation mechanism. However, near the anomaly at 100 K, a lower activation energy of 0.06 eV suggested a distinct relaxation mechanism. Nyquist plots are utilized to model the dielectric behaviour with equivalent circuits, providing insights into the underlying mechanisms. This study provides the intricate nature of the dielectric properties of \documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$$SmCrO_3$$\end{document} and highlights the significant impact of annealing temperature on these properties.