Structural and dielectric properties of ZrO2–TiO2–V2O5 nanocomposite prepared by CO-precipitation calcination method

Nanocrystalline ZrO2–V2O5–TiO2 composite was synthesized by co-precipitation method and calcined at 500 and 700 °C. The formation of the composite material has been confirmed by X-ray diffraction analysis. The surface morphology was determined by SEM and HRTEM and it was seen that increase in calcination temperature increases the grain size. EDX analysis confirms the presence of zirconium, titanium and vanadium in the lattice. Optical absorption studies reveal a very low absorption in the visible region for both the samples. The dielectric constant, loss and ac conductivity of the pelletized samples have been examined at different temperatures as functions of frequency and the activation energies were calculated. The results indicated that the dielectric constant increases with calcination temperature. It was seen that the dielectric constant increases on the addition of Vanadia to zirconia–titania composite making it ideal for use as a gate dielectric material.