Re-entrant-like relaxor ferroelectric behavior in Fe-modified BaTiO3 with considerable energy storage efficiency

Abstract

The present work reports the structural, dielectric, and ferroelectric behavior of Fe-modified BaTiO3. X-ray diffraction data indicate the formation of a single phase of the studied compound, assuming a tetragonal structure (space group P4mm). 57Fe Mössbauer spectra confirm the presence of Fe3+ at room temperature in the studied compound. Temperature-dependent dielectric data reveal re-entrant relaxor behavior in the studied compound around 200 K. This anomalous re-entrant behavior is further validated by memory/rejuvenation and temperature-dependent x-ray measurements. The observed results have been explained in terms of compositional disorder (the presence of Fe3+ at the Ti4+ site). Room-temperature ferroelectric measurements exhibit pinched hysteresis curves and can be understood in terms of the generation of the defect dipoles. Further, energy storage efficiency has been calculated and comes out to be 82.74%, which is nearly the highest among the BaTiO3-based polycrystalline ferroelectric materials.