Effects of Nd, Sm, Gd, Dy, Er Dopant on Electrical Properties of BaTiO3 Ceramics

BaTiO3 ceramics doped with various quantities of Nd2O3, Sm2O3, Gd2O3, Dy2O3 and Er2O3 were prepared respectively ( the adulterate concentrations were 0. 001,0. 002, 0. 003, 0.005, 0. 007 mol fraction) through a sol-gel method and their electrical properties were researched. It is found that each adulteration of Nd2O3, Sm2O3 Gd2O3,Dy2O3 and Er2O3 all can make the resistivity of BaTiO3 ceramics decline , especially Sm2O3 and Gd2O3. When the addition of Sm2O3 is 0. 001 mol, the resistivity is the smallest, declining from 4.0 × 1012 to 6.5 × 103 Ω different kind of rare earth exhibits different regularity. The grain resistance of BaTiO3 ceramics doped with Sm2O3 or Gd2O3 exhibits a NTC effect, at the same time the grain boundary resistance has a PTC effect, and the grain boundary resistance is much larger than the grain resistance, so the PTC effects of BaTiO3 ceramics doped with Sm2O3 or Gd2O3 originate from the grain boundary. The additions of Nd2O3 , Gd2O3 or Er2O3 make the dielectric constant and the dielectric loss of BaTiO3 ceramics change evidently, especially Nd2O3. The dielectric constant is larger than that of pure BaTiO3 ceramics, on the other hand, the dielectric loss is much lower, which is useful in capacitor fields.