Zr ⁴⁺ Effects on the Dielectric Properties of (Er+Ta) Co‐Doped TiO ₂

A comprehensive study on how Zr 4+ affects co‐doped TiO 2 was conducted by the solid‐state reaction method. ZrO 2 impurity was artificially added into (Er+Ta) co‐doped TiO 2 (ETTO) ceramic to simulate the high‐energy ball‐milling process. It was found that the addition of Zr 4+ significantly improved the dielectric properties of ETTO ceramic. The dielectric constant was maximally increased from 1.2 × 10 4 to 1.6 × 10 4 at 10 5 Hz, while the dielectric loss decreased to about 0.02. A hypothesis regarding the role of Zr 4+ was proposed. Meanwhile, through comparison with equal doping levels of Zr, Ta, and Er, the hypothesis was further supported. It is proposed that Zr 4+ doping replaces the Ti 3+ created during donor–acceptor co‐doping, altering the crystal lattice to facilitate Er 3+ dissolution, ultimately improving the dielectric properties of the co‐doped TiO 2 .