Electrical conductivity and charge compensation in Nb doped TiO2 rutile

Abstract

The electrical conductivity of rutile doped with 0.04–3 at.% niobium is reported as a function of oxygen pressure in the temperature range 1273–1623 K. The charge compensation is discussed in terms of a point defect model, under the assumption of a substitutional incorporation of niobium into the titanium rutile sublattice. Two kinds of charge compensation occur according to the temperature and the oxygen pressure, via an electronic or a lattice defect, in a Ti1−yNbyO2 or a Ti1−yNbyO2+y/2 solid solution, respectively. In the overstoichiometric range of the oxide, the data, when applied to undoped rutile, allow some conclusions about the atomic or electronic transport properties, both in the high and low temperature regimes.