Structural, Magnetic and Electrical Properties of Nd{3+}-Doped PbWO4 Ceramic Materials

Abstract

Sub-microcrystalline samples of Pb_1-3x□_xNd_2xWO₄ (PbNdW) solid solution (x = 0.0098, 0.0455, 0.0839, and 0.1667, where □ denotes vacant sites) prepared by citrate-nitrate combustion method were pressed and sintered at 1050°C to a ceramic form. Therefore, it is expected that the ceramics under study display also unique properties and new potential applications. This paper presents the results of structural, microscopic, magnetic, and electrical, as well as broadband dielectric spectroscopy measurements of PbNdW ceramic samples with a scheelite-type structure. The studies showed that replacing diamagnetic Pb²⁺ ions with paramagnetic Nd³⁺ ones possessing a screened 4f-shell leads to greater charge accumulation capacity, higher relative electric permittivity, low energy losses, and suppression of dipole relaxation. The important result of the transformation of sub-microcrystalline samples into ceramics is an increase in dielectric permittivity with a simultaneous reduction in electrical conductivity.