The electrical properties of (Ba0.7Sr0.3-xCax)(Ti0.9Zr0.1)O3 (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.2) (BSCTZ) ceramics prepared using citrate gelation (CG) method were investigated by substituting Ca2+ ions for the Sr2+ sites based on the structural characteristics of the ceramics. BSCTZ was sintered for 3 h at 1300 °C, lower than the temperature (1550 °C) at which the specimens prepared using the solid-state reaction (SSR) method were sintered, which lasted for 6 h. As the amount of substituted Ca2+ ions increased, the unit cell volume of the BSCTZ decreased because of the smaller ionic radius of the Ca2+ ions compared to the Sr2+ ions. The dielectric constant of BaTiO3-based ceramics is imparted by factors such as the tetragonality and B-site bond valence of the ceramics. Although the ceramic tetragonality increased with Ca2+ ion substitution, the x = 0.05 specimens exhibited the highest dielectric constant. The decrease in the dielectric constant of the sintered x > 0.05 specimens was attributed to the increase in the B-site bond valence of the ABO3 perovskite structure. Owing to the large number of grain boundaries, the breakdown voltage (6.6839 kV/mm) of the BSCTZ prepared using the CG method was significantly improved in relation to that (2.0043 kV/mm) of the specimen prepared using the SSR method.
Keywords: B-site bond valence; BaTiO3; breakdown voltage; citrate gelation.