The Role of CeO2 Nano-Particle Additives on Microstructure and Microwave Dielectric Properties of Mg2TiO4 Ceramics

This chapter explores a systematic investigation of the crystal structure, microstructure, and microwave dielectric properties of Mg2TiO4 ceramics added with differentxwt%. (x = 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5 wt. %) of CeO2 nanoparticles, prepared by conventional solid-state reaction method. Since, densification of pure - Mg2TiO4 (MTO) ceramics is more than 1450 °C, which restricts its practical utility. However, enhanced densification and uniform microstructure are achieved at about 1300 °C, when CeO2 nanoparticles were added to MTO ceramics, along with improved microwave dielectric properties. The best combination of room temperature microwave dielectric properties (εr~ 14.6, Q × fo~ 167,000 GHz @ 9.5 GHz) was obtained for MTO ceramics added with 1.5 wt.% CeO2 nanoparticles, sintered at 1300 °C for 3 hours. The observed microwave dielectric properties of the MTO ceramics showed significant dependence on sintering temperature, relative density, uniform surface morphology, and the nature of additive concentrations. The proposed material has its practical utility in various microwave communication applications.

Keywords: CeO2 nanoparticles, Dielectric resonators, Microwave dielectric properties, Mg2TiO4 ceramics, SEM, Sintering, XRD.