Effect of Sintering Temperature on Dielectric Behavior of Y0.95Ca0.05MnO3 Manganites

Abstract

Ca-doped mixed valent Y0.95Ca0.05MnO3 (YCMO) manganites, synthesized using cost effective acetic acid based modified sol-gel method, sintered at various temperatures, exhibit a strong effect of sintering temperature on the structure, microstructure, dielectric and activation energy (Ea). Oxygen vacancies, located at the grain boundaries of the nanostructured YCMO samples, play an important role in governing the dielectric behavior. The peak behavior, observed in imaginary part of dielectric (εʹʹ vs. T) plots, has been used to calculate the Ea of the samples and it is found that, with increase in ST, Ea increases. The variation in dielectric constant and activation energy has been discussed in the light of grain morphology and oxygen non-stoichiometry.

Keywords: Dielectric behavior, Sol–Gel, Manganites