Polycrystalline powder of (Na0.5Bi0.5)TiO3 (NBT) was prepared by a high-temperature solid-state reaction route. Preliminary x-ray diffraction analysis carried out at room temperature showed the formation of a single phase compound with a rhombohedral crystal system. Scanning electron micrograph reveals the polycrystalline nature of the material with size anisotropy. Dielectric study showed an existence of diffuse phase transition around 300 °C. The ac conductivity spectrum obeyed the Jonscher power law. The temperature dependent pre-exponential factor (A) shows peak and frequency exponent (n) possesses a minimum at transition temperature. The bulk conductivity of the material indicates an Arrhenius type of thermally activated process with three different conduction mechanisms as different activation energies are observed. The hopping charge carriers dominate at low temperature, small polaron and oxygen vacancy dominates at intermediate temperature and ionic conduction at higher temperatures. Studies of impedance spectroscopy indicate that the dielectric relaxation is of non-Debye type. In situ high-temperature Raman spectroscopy shows discontinuous changes in the phonon frequencies across the rhombohedral–tetragonal transition. In addition, anomalous changes in the intensity and the linewidth of a lattice mode are found around 350 °C.

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Phonons and magnetic and ferroelectric ordering in La-substituted (Bi1−xLax)0.5Pb0.5Fe0.5Ti0.5O3 for samples with 0.0 ≤ x ≤ 0.5 are investigated using Raman, magnetization, and polarization measurements as a function of temperature. The system is tetragonal for pure Bi0.5Pb0.5Fe0.5Ti0.5O3 with a large c/a ratio. The anisotropy is reduced when Bi is partially replaced by La (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.5), and it turns cubic for x ≥ 0.4. All the properties are found to change significantly with changes in the c/a ratio. Evidence of spin-glass-like magnetic ordering at low temperature is found in the case of x = 0.2. A mechanism for the systematic change of magnetic ordering temperature as a function of doping is also discussed. The phonon frequencies and line widths exhibit discontinuous changes across the tetragonal-cubic transition. Large polarization and forbidden Raman scattering in the cubic phase are explained on the basis of symmetry breaking due to the formation of a polar nano region, which leads to relaxor behavior.

Raman spectroscopic measurements were carried out in the temperature range 10-300 K to understand the low-temperature antiferroelectric (AFE)-ferroelectric (FE) phase transition in NaNbO 3 . Several modes in the low wavenumber range were found to disappear, while some new modes appeared across the transition. The temperature dependence of mode wavenumbers suggests that, during cooling, the AFE-FE phase transition begins to occur at 180 K, while the reverse transition starts at 260 K during heating. During cooling, the two phases were found to coexist in the temperature range of 220-160 K. Upon heating, the FE phase is retained up to 240 K and both FE and AFE phases coexist in the temperature range 240-300 K. In contrast to the earlier reports, the present results suggest a different coexistence region and the reverse transition temperature. The reported relaxor-type FE behaviour over a broad temperature is consistent with the observed coexistence of phases during cooling and heating cycles.

Piezoelectric and other physical properties are significantly enhanced at (or near) a morphotropic phase boundary (MPB) in ferroelectrics. MPB materials have attracted significant attention owing to both fundamental physics as well as the possibility of wellregulated energy and information storage devices which are dominated by lead (Pb)-based materials. Here, we report the crystal structure, Raman spectra, dielectric constant and polarization near the MPB of lead free (1 − x) Na 0.5 Bi 0.5 TiO 3 − x BaTiO 3 (0.00 ⩽ x ⩽ 0.10) solid-solution, prepared by sol-gel auto combustion technique and sintered by microwave sintering technique. With the addition of BaTiO 3 into Na 0.5 Bi 0.5 TiO 3 , it induces a structural phase transition from R3c (a single phase) to R3c + P4mm (a dual phase) close to x = 0.06 and 0.07 and transform to a high symmetry tetragonal phase P4mm at higher compositions (x = 0.08 to 0.10) as evident from our x-ray Rietveld refinement and Raman spectroscopic results. We perform first-principles calculations based on density functional theory that confirm a structural transition from a rhombohedral to a tetragonal phase under increasing x. In the prepared solid solution, an anomalous enhancement of remnant polarization (2P 0 r ) was observed for x = 0.06 and 0.07, which has been explained based on the existence of the MPB. On the other hand, the value of coercive field E 0 C was found to be decreased linearly from x = 0.00 to 0.06; it is constant for higher compositions. Further details of the ferroelectric properties on the electric field poled samples have been studied and compared with the as-grown (unpoled) samples.