BaFe0.5Nb0.5O3 (BFN) is a class of material that exhibits a very high value of the dielectric constant over a wide range of temperature, rendering it a promising candidate for capacitor application. In this contribution, we report a versatile route for synthesis of a BFN ceramic via a co-precipitation process. The method simply involved mixing of solutions of precursors in ambient conditions. The mixed solution was dried at 110 oC and subsequently calcined at 850 oC for different periods of time. The formation of the perovskite structure of BFN was followed by utilizing X-ray diffraction and Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy. The pure perovskite phase was obtained upon the calcination at 850 oC for 14 h, a much milder conditions compared to the normal solid-state reaction. The powder samples were pressed into pellets and sintered at 1250 oC for 4 h. The examination by scanning electron microscopy observed an average grain size of the BFN ceramic of about 1.53 μm. The field dependences of the dielectric response and dielectric loss were measured in a frequency range of 20 Hz to 2 MHz at room temperature. The maximum values of the dielectric constant and dielectric loss are ~9000 and ~1.1, respectively.

Keywords: Niobates, Dielectric properties, Perovskite, Ferroelectric properties.