Zn-Doped Calcium Copper Titanate Synthesis via Microwave-Assisted Technique

Abstract

Electroceramic material has become significant in the recent development of electronic parts such as capacitors, resonators, and sensors. The previous study on calcium copper titanate (CaCu₃Ti₄O₁₂, CCTO) showed that CCTO exhibits a colossal dielectric constant, up to 10⁵ for bulk materials using a conventional synthesis route (calcine and sinter at 900 - 1040? for 9 - 12 hours). The high firing temperature and longer reaction time were undesirable because they would increase production costs and be time-consuming. Alternately, research findings on doping with donor or acceptor elements were proven to be an effective technique for improving dielectric properties. Thus, the Zn-doping (Zn= 0, 1, and 3 mol%) method increased the dielectric constant in CCTO. The study successfully synthesized Zn-doped CCTO at 700? with a soaking time of 40 minutes using a microwave-assisted technique (calcined and sintered). Then, the samples were characterized using XRD and an impedance analyzer. The CCTO crystal formation was examined through an XRD pattern, and semi-quantitative analysis indicated that 1 mol% of Zn-doped recorded optimum formation reaction after calcining (56.5 wt%) and as-sinter (70.3 wt%). However, despite the low formation of CCTO crystal structure in 3 mol% of Zn-doped (34.9 wt%), it has the highest dielectric constant, and the dielectric loss was reduced at high frequency.