Electrochemical synthesis and dielectric performance of Sr-doped BaTiO₃ nano-powders

In this paper, Sr-doped BaTiO₃ nanoparticles were synthesized via electrochemical method, leading to the successful preparation of Ba_0.67Sr_0.33TiO₃ (BST) powders. The phase composition and microstructure of the powders were characterized using X-ray diffraction small angle X-ray scattering, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy. The results show that the average grain size of the nanoparticles is in the range of 10–20 nm, and the particles with good crystallinity are obtained under the environment of 3 mol.L⁻¹ NaOH concentration. Sintering at 1250 ℃ for 3 h yields nanoscale BST ceramics with a dense structure and an average grain size of about 300 nm. These fine-grained ceramic samples exhibit superior temperature stability compared to relatively coarser BST ceramics. Furthermore, due to their nanoscale grain size, extensive phase transitions result in a low dielectric constant as observed from the dielectric property data. This work presents a novel approach for preparing nanoscale powders and homogeneous ceramics applicable in various electronic applications.