Structural, electrical, and thermal properties in Ca-doped fresnoite ceramics

Polycrystalline ceramic samples of Ca-doped fresnoite of general formula Ba2−x Ca x TiSi2O8 (x = 0.0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.8, and 1) have been prepared by standard solid state reaction technique using high purity oxides and carbonates. The formation of the single phase compound and its structural parameters were investigated by X-ray diffraction followed by Rietveld refinement using non-centrosymmetric space group P4bm. The bond distances between atoms in a unit cell for all the compounds were also calculated which supports the structural results analyzed by Rietveld analysis. The frequency and temperature dependent dielectric constant and ac conductivity of all the compounds have been measured. The real and imaginary parts of the dielectric constant increases with the increase of temperature. The activation energy (E a) calculated from ac conductivity increases from x = 0.0 to 0.4 and then decreases from x = 0.8 to 1.0. The modulated differential scanning calorimetry has been used to investigate the effect of substitution on the specific heat, heat flow, and other thermal parameters of the compounds.