Structural and electrical properties of lead-free perovskite ceramic: Ba(In1/2Nb1/2)O3

Lead-free perovskite Ba(In1/2Nb1/2)O3 was prepared by conventional ceramic fabrication technique at 1350 °C/5 h in air atmosphere. The crystal symmetry, space group and unit cell dimensions were determined from Rietveld analysis using FullProf software whereas crystallite size and lattice strain were estimated from Williamson-Hall approach. XRD analysis of the compound indicated the formation of a single-phase cubic structure with the space group Pm3m. EDAX and SEM studies were carried out in order to evaluate the quality and purity of the compound. Complex impedance as well as electric modulus analyses suggested the dielectric relaxation to be of non-Debye type. The correlated barrier hopping (CBH) model was employed to successfully explain the mechanism of charge transport in Ba(In1/2Nb1/2)O3.

Research Highlights
► Structural and electrical properties of Ba(In1/2Nb1/2)O3 are reported.
► Dielectric relaxation in Ba(In1/2Nb1/2)O3 is found to be of non-Debye type.
► The conduction mechanism has been probed using impedance spectroscopy technique.
► Correlated barrier hopping model explains the mechanism of charge transport.