Comprehensive Analysis of Structural Integrity, Surface Morphology, and Optical Properties of Na1/2Y1/2Cu₃Ti₄O₁₂ Ceramics

This study focuses on evaluating the phase formation, microstructural properties, surface morphology, and optical characteristics of Na <inf xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">1/2</inf> Y <inf xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">1/2</inf> Cu <inf xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">3</inf> T <inf xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">i4</inf> O <inf xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">12</inf> (NYCTO) ceramics manufactured by a traditional solid-state reaction method. The NYCTO fine powder underwent sintering in air at a temperature of 1050 °C for 8 hours. The ceramics obtained exhibited a distinct cubic phase similar to CaCu <inf xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">3</inf> Ti <inf xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">4</inf> O <inf xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">12</inf> (CCTO), as confirmed by XRD analysis. The Rietveld method was utilized to determine the lattice parameter, which was measured to be 7.378 Å. All the R-factor values were less than 10% and the goodness of fit (GOF) coefficient was 1.4. The average size of the crystallites is 37.4 nm. By employing the Archimedes method, the density of the sample was approximated to be 4.61 g/cm 3 , with a corresponding relative density of 88.5 %. Average micro-strain value obtained by Williamson-Hall Plot method was 6.87 × 10 -4 . FESEM observations revealed a homogeneous distribution of grains with a small number of pores. The average grain size was measured to be 2.38 µm. The optical characteristics of the calcined powder were evaluated using UV-vis spectroscopy and the direct band gap was determined to be 3.78 eV.