Chemical and structural features of the grain boundaries in semiconducting BaTiO3 ceramics prepared from surface-coated powders

The chemical and structural features of the grain boundaries of the BaTiO3 ceramics, which were synthesized by hot-press sintering Mn-coated semiconducting powders, were investigated, and the relations with their electrical characteristics were discussed. The distribution of coating materials near the grain boundaries appears to produce about 1.2% strain within the region approximately 20 nm from the grain boundary plane, as well as particular electrical features; the electrostatic potential barrier heights of the BaTiO3 ceramics increased from 0.18 to 0.24 eV when the amount of coating materials increased from 0 to 1.0 at.%.