Electrical behavior of Pb_1.83Mg_0.29Nb_1.71O_6.39 pyrochlore ceramics

Abstract

Pb1.83Mg0.29Nb1.71O6.39 pyrochlore was produced via a simple partial oxalate method. It was examined by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Single phase, belonging to the cubic pyrochlore structure, with a lattice parameter of a = 10.60125 +/- 0.001 Angstrom and grain size that varies from 5 to 10 mum was obtained. The electrical properties were measured at different temperatures in the range 15-320 K without and with applied magnetic field of 1.4 T. Current-voltage characteristics data were fitted to a power law expression V=I-beta(T) in which the exponential parameter beta takes values around 1 at all temperatures except at 300 K. Resistance starts from 3.3 x 10(10) Omega at 15 K and increases gradually to 4.8 x 10(10) Omega at 240 K. It drops to approximately 1.2 x 10(10) Omega at 300 K, after which it increases again to around 1.6 x 10(10) Omega at 320 K. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.