Effects of Bi4Ti3O12 addition on the microstructure and dielectric properties of modified BaTiO3 under a reducing atmosphere

The effects of Bi4Ti3O12 addition on the microstructure and dielectric properties of Mn-modified BaTiO3 were investigated to develop low temperature fired BaTiO3-based ceramics with stable temperature characteristics. The sintering temperature of Mn-doped BaTiO3 could be reduced to 1200 °C by adding more than 1 mol% Bi4Ti3O12. TEM results show an apparent core–shell structure with 2 mol% Bi4Ti3O12 addition. However, it was destroyed when the Bi4Ti3O12 content increased from 2 to 4 mol%. The permittivity decreased and the Curie temperature shifted to higher temperature when the Bi4Ti3O12 content increased from 0 to 3 mol%. The temperature characteristic of capacitance was very close to the EIA X8R specification when 2 mol% Bi4Ti3O12 was added due to the presence of the core–shell grain structure and raised Curie temperature. With adequate Bi4Ti3O12 addition, the BaTiO3-based system shows great potential for applications in EIA X8R-type multilayer ceramic capacitors.