Structural, electrical and dielectric investigations of cerium doped barium zirconate (BaZrO3) nano-ceramics produced via green synthesis: Probable candidate for solid oxide fuel cells and microwave applications

Highlights: • Ecofriendly production of BaZr_1-xCe_xO_3-x/2 nano-ceramics using honey as a fuel. • Tuning of microstructure, dielectric and electrical characteristics of BaZrO₃ nanoceramics by Ce doping. • Enhancement in dielectric and electrical characteristics by Ce replacement. • Probable candidate for solid oxide fuel cells and microwave applications. Cerium incorporated barium zirconate nano-ceramics BaZr_1-xCe_xO_3-x/2 were fabricated by eco-friendly green combustion using honey as a fuel. FTIR spectra evidenced a prominent band between 400 and 700 cm⁻¹ characteristics of ABO₃ perovskites. The bond-length (r) of Zr–O bond is extended through doping of Ce ions. Consequently, the communication among Zr and O bond is weakened. The electrical conductivity rises with temperature, demonstrating that BaZr_1-xCe_xO_3-x/2 exhibits ionic and/or electron-hole conduction. The conductivity is observed to enhance with the Ce³⁺ concentration. At 850 °C, the solid x = 0.10 exhibits enhanced conductivity of 0.0190 S/cm than that of pristine BaZrO₃ (0.010 S/cm). The increasing trend of conductivity may be due to decreased grain boundary resistance effect and generation of oxygen vacancies. Dielectric behaviour shows slight frequency dependence performance, the dielectric constant was high (ε = 35–45) in lower frequency region. The dielectric constant declines on enhancing Ce-content which can be explained on the Maxwell-Wagner model.