Micro structural and dielectric property analysis on hydrothermally grown gadolinium doped SnO₂ crystals

A series of SnO₂–Gd₂O₃ mixed oxides were grown in aqueous medium by varying the thermodynamic parameters by hydrothermal method. X ray diffraction data identified tetragonal phases corresponding to tin oxide. The average crystallite size of the samples were between 21 and 31 nm. The morphological studies were conducted using scanning electron microscopy and compositional purity confirmed using energy dispersive spectroscopy. Detailed dielectric studies on the samples were performed in the frequency range 100 Hz–5 MHz, which showed that dielectric constant decreases with frequency in the low frequency range, whereas remains constant at higher frequencies. Impedance analysis is used to explain the effects of grain and grain boundary on transport mechanism of Gd:SnO₂ particles synthesised at various pH. (paper)