Ferroelectric characterization of isolated BaTiO3particles

Small ceramic particles with implied high ferroelectric properties are highly demanded for achieving fine-grained ceramics as well as in the preparation of ceramic/polymer composites. While a variety of synthetic methods offers ferroelectric particles with different sizes and crystallographic phases, a simple possibility to directly compare the ferroelectric properties of such particles is lacking. Besides the industrial importance, accessing the intrinsic ferroelectric properties of small particles will certainly help to enlighten the discussion about the existence of a size effect in ferroelectricity. We report on a setup to correctly determine ferroelectricity of BaTiO3particles, well dispersed in an organic polymer matrix.