[100]-Oriented BaTiO₃ via reaction-mediated texturing with SrTiO₃ templates

Further enhancing dielectric permittivity of BaTiO₃ (BT)-based dielectric ceramics is an at-all-time challenge in multilayer ceramic capacitor industries. Grain orientation engineering is a strategy to utilize anisotropic electrical properties in polycrystalline ceramics. It is well-known that single crystalline BT exhibits highly anisotropic dielectric properties, with markedly higher relative permittivity along the a-axis. However, research on [100]-textured ceramics has remained unexplored. Here, [100]-textured BT is fabricated using hollow-shaped SrTiO₃ (ST) templates, named as h-STBT. The enhanced relative permittivity and reduced electromechanical response, relative to randomly oriented BT ceramic, oppose the behaviors of [001]-aligned BT-templated BT. Anisotropic responses along directions parallel and perpendicular to the tape casting plane confirmed the [100] orientation of h-STBT. This work broadens the strategy for tailoring the electric properties of BT beyond the prevalent [001]-textured ones, along with providing insights into the role of interfacial stress relief in achieving high texture degrees during heterogeneous templated grain growth.