Effect of synthesis route on the structural and electrical properties of sodium bismuth titanate: A comparative study of solid-state and polyol mediated synthesis

Abstract Sodium bismuth titanate (NBT) was synthesized through two different synthesis methods: solid-state reaction (SS) and polyol mediated synthesis (PM). The effect of synthesis route on the structural and electrical properties of NBT system has been investigated. Polyol mediated synthesize NBT sample result in single-phase at relatively lower temperature than of prepared via the solid-state reaction method. The Rietveld refinement of the XRD data confirms that both the sample crystallizes in the rhombohedral perovskite phase with R3c space group. The morphological properties indicate that the grain size of the polyol method processed sample is smaller and slightly agglomerated than the one prepared via solid-state route. Impedance results reveal enhanced bulk conductivity for PM synthesized samples as compared to SS route. Thus, the polyol mediated synthesis may be a better approach for the synthesis of NBT samples. Furthermore, a correlation between the structural and electrical properties for both methods synthesized samples have been discussed to explain the conductivity behaviour.