Ba/Zr Co-substituted h-YMnO3 manganite: study of its structural, optical and electrical properties

In the present communication, the composition of barium and zirconium modified YMnO3 ceramic, i.e. Y0.95Ba0.05Mn0.95Zr0.05O3, has been synthesized using the solid-state reaction method, and emphasis has been made to observe the variations on structural, optical, electrical, and ferroelectric properties of the prepared ceramic. The primary structural analysis has been verified by the X-ray diffraction technique. XRD patterns revealed that the sample has been crystallized in a hexagonal geometry with P63cm space group symmetry. Further, Rietveld’s refinement of Y0.95Ba0.05Mn0.95Zr0.05O3 ceramic has been done to support the results of XRD. The lattice parameters are increased, while the average crystallite size is decreased with Ba2+ and Zr4+ doping. A detailed study of the optical property of the prepared sample was done using the UV-DRS method. The optical energy band gap of the sample is found to be ~ 1.534 eV, while the Urbach’s energy is found to be ~ 0.169 eV. The dielectric constant and dielectric loss of the ceramic show the dispersion due to Maxwell–Wagner’s type of interfacial polarization. Moreover, the given ceramic sample reveals the enhanced value of the dielectric constant. The complex modulus measurement revealed that the transport phenomenon in this ceramic indicates the relaxation mechanism of the non-Debye’s type. The complex impedance study of the given ceramic has been done to explore the grain and grain boundaries contribution, which are in sequence the controlling factors for the electrical properties of the given material. The ceramic sample with an enhanced dielectric constant may be appropriate for device applications.