Effects of Cerium Doping at Ti Sites and Europium Doping at Ba Sites on Dielectric Properties of BaTiO3 Ceramics1

Two special rare earth elements cerium and europium were chosen to conduct chemical modification of the BaTiO3 structure. The cold-pressing ceramic processing technique was used to prepare barium titanate ceramics doped with Ce at Ti sites and with Eu at Ba sites on the base of formulas Ba(Ti1-xCex)O3(x =0.05, 0.10)(CBT) and (Ba1-yEuy)Ti1-y/8O3(y=0.05, 0.10)(EBT). Associated with structures and microstructures, the effects of cerium and europium doping on dielectric properties of BaTiO3 ceramics were discussed. The CBT ceramics exhibit a pseudo-cubic perovskite structure, while the EBT ceramics exhibit a tetragonal perovskite structure with the exception of the existence of a small percentage of the Eu2Ti2O7 phase. The Curie peak of BaTiO3 shifts towards room temperature at rates of 3 °C/mol Ce atoms and 10 °C/mol Eu atoms (Eu≤5%), respectively. Compared with the CBT ceramics, the EBT ceramics show significant advantages, such as a narrow fine grain size distribution(1 μm), a lower porosity and a higher density(5.85 g/cm3), more stable dielectric-temperature dependence(ɛ′=1600-1800 at t <50 °C) and a lower dissipation factor(< 0.05). The stability of dielectric constant with frequency in BaTiO3 can extend to 107 Hz due to Ce and Eu doping.