The influence of mechanical activation on the morphological changes of Fe/BaTiO₃ powder

Highlights: • Fe/BaTiO₃ ceramic was prepared using a solid-state reaction. • Powder mixture of 60% Fe and 40% BaTiO₃ was mechanically activated up to 240 min. • Microstructure was characterized using Powder XRD and SEM. • Thermal stability of the activated samples was investigated using DSC. • Raman spectrum changes with activation, along with atypical resonant scattering. - Abstract: Crystal structure and morphology of mechanically activated nanocrystalline Fe/BaTiO₃ was investigated using a combination of spectroscopic and microscopic methods. These show that mechanical activation led to the creation of new surfaces and the comminution of the initial powder particles. Prolonged milling resulted in formation of larger agglomerates of BaTiO₃ and bimodal particle size distribution, where BaTiO₃ particles were significantly larger than those of iron-containing phases. Milling times of 210 min and above lead to a significant decrease in temperature of the oxidation of iron in the sample, indicating abrupt change in reactivity. Raman spectroscopy analysis has revealed that activation had a pronounced influence on Fe/BaTiO₃ lattice, thereby affecting both the stability of the crystal structure and the phase transition phenomena.