Preparation, characterization and electrical conductivity studies of nanocrystalline scheelite Ba1−xDyxMoO4+δ

Nanocrystalline Dy doped BaMoO4 [Ba1−xDyxMoO4+x/2, where x=0, 0.05, 0.1, 0.15, and 0.2] samples were prepared by the acrylamide assisted sol–gel process. The prepared samples were characterized by TG/DTA, XRD, FTIR, SEM-EDX and XRF techniques. From XRD patterns, crystalline phases for Ba1−xDyxMoO4+x/2, where x=0, 0.05, 0.1, 0.15, and 0.2 were confirmed and their average crystallite sizes calculated using Scherrerʹs formula were found to be less than 80 nm. Thermal behavior and structure of Scheelite type nanocrystalline Ba1−xDyxMoO4+x/2, where x=0, 0.05, 0.1, 0.15, and 0.2 samples were identified using TG/DTA and FTIR measurements respectively. Microstructure and existence of O, Dy, Ba, and Mo in the Dy doped BaMoO4 samples were obtained from SEM-EDX and XRF results. The electrical conductivities of different compositions of the prepared nanocrystslline Dy doped BaMoO4 samples were evaluated by analyzing impedance data as a function temperature ranging from 350 to 650 °C under air using winfit software. Among the doped compositions, Ba0.90Dy0.10MoO4+δ exhibited high conductivity of 5.46×10−3 S/cm at 650 °C.