Nb5+-doped SrTiO3-based glass-ceramics: Insight into crystallisation kinetics, microstructure, and dielectric properties

Nb5+-doped SrTiO3-based glass-ceramics composed of SrO–B2O3–SiO2–TiO2 were modified by Nb2O5 doping and prepared via a melt-quenching process accompanied by controlled crystallisation. The effect of the Nb2O5 concentration on the crystallisation, microstructure, and dielectric properties of the glass-ceramics was investigated. Surface analysis conducted by XPS revealed that with the addition of Nb2O5, the number of non-bridging oxygens (NBO) decreased while the number of bridging oxygens (BO) increased, increasing the interconnection of the structural units. The crystallisation activation energies of the samples tended to decrease from 376.06 kJ/mol to 271.50 kJ/mol (Kissinger model), and the crystal growth modes changed from two-dimensional to three-dimensional (Avrami indexes n: 2.38–4.23) with increasing Nb2O5 concentration. The XRD, SEM, and EDS analyses showed that the addition of Nb5+ promoted the growth of crystals (0.44–1.35 μm). The dielectric properties show that an appropriate amount of Nb2O5 greatly improves the dielectric constant of the glass-ceramics. The dielectric constant of the glass-ceramic doped with 1.5 mol% Nb2O5 is 178.1 (300 K, 1 MHz), which is approximately 6.7 times higher than that of the undoped Nb2O5-doped glass-ceramics (26.5). The introduction of Nb2O5 reduced the activation energy of glass devitrification, promoted crystal development, and improved the dielectric properties of the glass-ceramics.