Local structure of the B-site in BNT-xBT investigated by 47,49Ti NMR: Effect of barium content

Abstract

Towards a deeper understanding of the local structure of the B-site in (100-x)(Bi1/2Na1/2)TiO3-xBaTiO3 (BNT-xBT) with 0 ≤ x ≤ 15, solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectra of the titanium isotopes47Ti and49Ti were investigated. The47,49Ti NMR spectra of BNT-xBT indicate a disordered local structure for the B-site of these perovskites. The line-shape of the titanium NMR spectra of BNT-xBT samples is found to be independent on the barium content. This fact implies that the local structure of the B-site remains invariant with respect to the structural changes that result from the chemical modification with barium. The analysis of47,49Ti NMR spectra supports the hypothesis that the main structural changes across the morphotropic phase boundary in these solid-solutions are constrained to the A-site and are related to the tilting of rigid oxygen octahedra.