The upper Manganese doping limit and its effects on physical properties of lead-free Bi0.5Na0.5TiO3 ceramics

The lead-free piezoelectric, Bi0.5Na0.5TiO3, was synthesized with varying amounts of Manganese (Mn) doping (x = 0.00, 0.02, 0.05, 0.10, 0.15) on the B-site to replace Ti4+ cations. Herein, the doping limit of Mn is explored along with its effects on the structure and properties of these materials. The temperature-dependent dielectric properties of the materials with a higher manganese doping level have also been comprehensively investigated in the temperature range of 10-700 K. All samples show a high dielectric permittivity, epsilon(r) similar to 4979-3626 at T-m similar to 550-600 K, along with a low dielectric loss. The magnetic study shows that doping with Mn leads to a complex magnetic state, where there is possible clustering of Mn ions, with inter- or intra-cluster interactions becoming dominant at approximately 50 K. These samples may be considered as alternative to lead-free materials with magneto-electric coupling.