Colossal dielectric response in barium iron niobate ceramics obtained by different precursors

Ba(Fe0.5Nb0.5)O3 (BFN) ceramics were synthesized by a traditional mixed oxide method (BFN-M), as well as a columbite method (BFN-C) with FeNbO4 precursor. X-ray diffraction reveals that both the ceramics and precursor have a pure monoclinic phase. BFN-C samples showed improved microstructure with less pores and smaller grain size. Dielectric properties of the BFN ceramic were characterized in a broad frequency range (0.1 Hz to 10 MHz) and a temperature range from −120 to 300 °C. A Debye-like relaxation was found in a low-frequency range, where a high-temperature dielectric anomaly was observed too. The relative low-dielectric loss suggests that columbite method should be a better choice for the synthesis of A(Fe0.5B0.5)O3 ceramics.