Ceramics-Silikáty 68, (1) 58 - 66 (2024)

Polycrystalline Sr_1-xBi_xTiO₃ (SBTx) ceramics were synthesised by applying microwave heating to the precursor components in a solid-state process. X-ray diffraction studies revealed the formation of a sole perovskite phase (ABO₃), with no evidence of any secondary phase. Scanning electron microscopy facilitated the observation of images that exhibited a substantial, granular morphology. The dielectric properties were investigated at ambient temperature. The dielectric constant rose from 1021 to 2320 with increasing concentrations of Bismuth (Bi), while the dielectric loss experienced an increase from 0.01 to 0.12. The investigation into the alternating current (AC) conductivity revealed a positive correlation between the AC conductivity and the frequency. The electron transport in SBTx ceramics was analysed based on the measured AC conductivity, concluding that the correlated barrier hopping model provides the most accurate description of the phenomenon. The investigation involved the analysis of the activation energy for conduction in various materials by utilising Arrhenius plots. The drop in the concentrations of Bi leads to a reduction in the activation energy. The observed reduction in activation energy is hypothesised to be attributed to an appealing interaction between the doped cations and the oxygen vacancies.