Structural and electrical studies of Ba5RTi3V7O30 (R=Ho, Gd, La) compounds

The ferroelectric ceramics Ba5RTi3V7O30 (R=Ho, Gd, La) have been synthesized by solid-state reaction technique. Preliminary X-ray structural analysis confirmed a single-phase formation of the compound in orthorhombic structure. Surface morphology of the compounds was studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Detailed studies of electrical properties (i.e., dielectric constant, loss tangent, ac conductivity) as a function of temperature (RT-773 K) and at four different frequencies (1 kHz, 10 kHz, 100 kHz and 1 MHz) show ferroelectric-paraelectric phase transition of the compounds of diffuse-type. The activation energy has been evaluated from ac conductivity following Arrhenius equation. The conductivity pattern shows that it is strongly frequency dependent and obeys Jonscher's power relation. (c) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.