XPS Analysis of Ni and Oxygen in Single-Sintered SrTiO3 Multifunction Ceramic

XPS analyses have been performed to investigate the chemical conditions of Ni and oxygen on grain surfaces in single-sintered SrTiO3 capacitor-varistor ceramic doped with Nb2O5 and NiO. It is ascertained that Ni is in form of Ni2+ ions, which substitute for Ti4+ ions on grain surfaces during the oxidizing annealing. Moreover, it is confirmed that three kinds of chemically adsorbed oxygen such as O2-, O- and O-2(-) are formed on grain surfaces. It is proposed that these behaviors contribute greatly to the generation of multiple types of grain boundary acceptor states in the ceramic.