Journal of Alloys and Compounds 466 (2008) L15–L18 Letter Ferroelectric and dielectric properties of vanadium-doped Ba(Ti 0.90 Zr 0.10 )O 3 ceramics F. Moura a , A.Z. Sim ˜ oes b , L.S. Cavalcante c,∗ , M.A. Zaghete a , J.A. Varela a , E. Longo a a Laborat´ orio Interdisciplinar de Eletroqu´ ımica e Cer ˆ amica, Departamento de F´ ısico-Qu´ ımica, Instituto de Qu´ ımica, Universidade Estadual Paulista, P.O. Box 355, 14801-907 R. Francisco Degni, s/n Bairro Quitandinha, Araraquara - SP, Brazil b Faculdade de Ciˆ encias, Departamento de Qu´ ımica, Universidade Estadual Paulista, Av. Luiz Edmundo Carrij´ o Coube, 14-01 Vargem Limpa, 17033-360 Bauru - SP, Brazil c Laborat´ orio Interdisciplinar de Eletroqu´ ımica e Cer ˆ amica, Departamento de Qu´ ımica, Universidade Federal de S˜ ao Carlos, P.O. Box 676, 13565-905 S˜ ao Carlos - SP, Brazil Received 4 May 2007; received in revised form 12 November 2007; accepted 16 November 2007 Available online 22 November 2007 Abstract Ba(Zr 0.10 Ti 0.90 )O 3 (BZT) and V substituted BZT ceramics (BZT:V) were prepared by mixed oxide method and polymeric precursor method. The effect of V 5+ addition in the BZT lattice was evaluated by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform Raman (FT-Raman) spectroscopy. When vanadium is introduced in the BZT lattice there is a decrease in the grain size. Substitution of vanadium on B-site broads the dielectric permittivity curve. That can be caused by repulsion of vanadium with their next nearest neighbors leading to a structure which is tetragonally distorted. © 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Keywords: Ceramics; Ferroelectrics; Solid-state reactions; Chemical synthesis; Vacancy information 1. Introduction Very high piezoelectric and electrostrictive properties have been achieved in a series of lead-based perovskite-type relaxor ferroelectric single crystals [1,2] for a certain orientation. In these systems the high strain is engendered by phase switching from low to high spontaneously deformed states. Usual hystere- sis in such a process is moderated by an induced monoclinicity which permits almost continuous rotation of the polarization vector. Unfortunately, lead compounds are toxic so there is an increasing desire to develop lead-free materials with high strain capability. Among several groups of lead-free candidates, BaTiO 3 is known to have a large electromechanical coupling factor. Substitution of Ti 4+ by Zr 4+ exhibits several interesting features in the dielectric behavior of BaTiO 3 ceramics. When the Zr content is less than 10 at.% the BZT ceramics show normal ferroelectric behavior and dielectric anomalies corre- sponding to cubic to tetragonal (T c ), tetragonal to orthorhombic ∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +55 16 3361 5215; fax: +55 16 3351 8350. E-mail address: laeciosc@bol.com.br (L.S. Cavalcante). (T 2 ), and orthorhombic to rhombohedral (T 3 ) phase transitions. Most studies on BZT ceramics are focused on the temperature dependence of the dielectric permittivity, relaxor behavior and photoluminescence in thin films form [3–6]. The effect of dop- ing on various physical and chemical properties of this material is known, and this effect has been extensively exploited in piezo- electrics and ferroelectrics to improve their performance. Many aliovalent compositional alterations to BZT have been studied either with higher valence substitutions (donors), or with lower valence ions (acceptors). Donor dopant, such as V 5+ , induces cationic defects while occupying the B site of the perovskite lattice [7,8]. Such behavior may cause several effects on the dielectric behavior through interaction with domain walls [9,10]. Similarity to Zr modified BaTiO 3 , BZT:V may be a promising material as lead-free actuator. In this letter, we focus on the ferroelectric and dielectric behavior of BZT:V ceramics. 2. Experimental details Ba(Ti 0.90 Zr 0.10 )O 3 ceramics were prepared by solid-state reaction. BaCO 3 , TiO 2 and ZrO 2 starting materials with high purity were weighed and wet mixed in alcohol. After drying, the powders were calcined at 600 ◦ C for 4 h. Vanadium 0925-8388/$ – see front matter © 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.jallcom.2007.11.057