Dielectric and Thermal Properties of Tetragonal PbTiO3 Nanoparticles/Clusters Embedded in Lithium Tetraborate Glass Matrix

PbTiO3 nanoparticles/clusters embedded in lithium tetraborate glass matrix (glass nanocomposite (GNCs)) of composition (100-x) Li2B4O7-xPbTiO3 (where x = 5, 10, 15 and 20 in mol %) were synthesized. The presence of glassy phase in all GNCs samples was identified by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and differential scanning calorimetric (DSC) studies. The structure of PbTiO3 used in the preparation of these samples is a ferroelectric tetragonal phase (space group P4mm) which is confirmed by Rietveld refinement of XRD data. Transmission electron microscopic (TEM) images exhibit PbTiO3 nanoparticles/clusters phase embedded in lithium tetraborate glass matrix. The ferroelectric to paraelectric phase transition of PbTiO3 nanoparticles/clusters in the GNCs samples was established from DSC and dielectric studies. The thermal, density, dielectric and Ac conductivity behavior of the GNCs samples depends on the change in the coordination number of the network former and the concentration of PbTiO3 in the glass matrix.