Structural,dielectric, electrical and optical properties of Li/Fe modified barium tungstate double perovskite for electronic devices

In this communication, the synthesis (solid-state reaction route) and characterization (structural and electrical properties) of Li/Fe modified barium tungstate BaWO₄ of chemical formula (BaLi)(FeW)O₆ double perovskite have been reported. Analysis of room temperature X-ray diffraction data shows the formation of a new single-phase (double perovskite) of tetragonal symmetry. The calculated average crystallite size and lattice strains are found to be 42 nm and 0.111% respectively. The scanning electron micrograph shows that grains are distributed uniformly with less porosity in the material. Detailed studies of field (frequency) and thermal (temperature) dependence of capacitive (dielectric) and resistive (impedance and conductivity) characteristics of the prepared material have shown the dielectric dispersion, relaxation, and non-Debye type of conduction mechanism respectively of the material. The existence of a non-Debye type of relaxation process and thermally activated relaxation process in the material has been analyzed by using impedance spectroscopy and conductivity techniques respectively. The presence of the depressed semicircular arcs in both Nyquist and Cole-Cole plots confirms the semiconductor nature of the material, which is well supported from ZSIMPWIN fitted impedance data. Study of room temperature Raman spectra supports the incorporation of Li/Fe of LiFeO₂ in BaWO₄ to produce new double perovskite of a composition BaLiFeWO₆ of tetragonal symmetry. Further, as the temperature dependence of resistance shows a good stability factor, sensitivity factor, and thermistor constant, the material may be useful for thermistor-related devices. The nature of I–V characteristics confirms the presence of the Ohmic type of conductivity of the material. The energy bandgap of 2.85 eV, obtained from the UV–visible spectrum, suggests the material may also be used for optoelectronic devices.     

High Temperature Structural,Dielectric, and Ion Conduction Properties of Orthorhombic InVO4

Orthorhombic InVO₄ was prepared by solid‐state reaction method and characterized by powder X‐ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. The frequency‐dependent dielectric and conductivity properties were studied from 300 to 973 K by impedance spectroscopy. A significantly enhanced conductivity was observed at higher temperature whereas almost no conduction was observed below 723 K. Appreciable grain boundary conductivity was observed at higher temperature. The activation energies for grain and grain boundary conductivities are 0.87 and 1.28 eV, respectively. The relative permittivity of ~35 was observed in a wider range of frequencies and temperatures. The frequency dispersion dielectric studies indicated thermally activated hopping conduction process. The high temperature structural studies revealed no significant change in structural parameters except a gradual increasing trend in the unit cell parameters and amplitude of isotropic thermal parameters with increasing temperature.     

Structural,dielectric and electrical characteristics of BiFeO3-NaNbO3 solid solutions

The paper mainly reports the effect of NaNbO₃ (as a doping material) on the structural (crystal data and microstructure), dielectric (permittivity, dissipation of energy) and electrical (impedance, modulus, and conductivity) characteristics of BiFeO₃ forming a solid solution of Bi_.8Na_.2Fe_.8Nb_.2O_3. By analysis of the room temperature X-ray diffraction data, the formation of pure-phase material and its crystal data were obtained. The comprehensive studies of dielectric parameters (relative dielectric constant (ε_r), and tangent loss (tan δ) were measured in a wide range of temperature (25–450?°C) and frequency (1?kHz-1?MHz). The surface morphology, obtained with a gold-coated pellet sample, exhibits the high density of the sample. The frequency-temperature dependence of conductivity follows the Jonscher’s Universal Power law. The electrical behavior of the compound has been studied using complex impedance and modulus data. The effect of grain and grain boundary on the capacitive and resistive properties of the material has been studied from complex impedance spectroscopy.     

Structural,dielectric and magnetic behavior of BST modified rare earth ortho-ferrite LaFeO3

This communication reports the effect of rare earth ortho-ferrite LaFeO₃ on the structural, micro-structural, dielectric, electrical, conduction and magnetic behaviors of BST i.e. [(LaBa_0.5Sr_0.5)_0.5(FeTi)_0.5O₃]. After successful preparation of sample in desired conditions by the conventional solid state route, its single phase formation in orthorhombic symmetry have been analyzed and confirmed by X-ray diffraction technique. The compound shows improved optical, dielectric and magnetic behavior. The dielectric and electrical characteristics of the sample has been studied in different conditions of temperature (25-500 °C) and frequency (1-1000 kHz). A thermally activated transport characteristic evidences the semiconductor nature of the sample. Room temperature magnetic hysteresis confirms the presence of sizeable ferromagnetism in the studied compound. Based on other interesting results, this material could be considered favorable candidate for electronic device applications.     

Electric and Dielectric Properties of Some Fluorescent Dye/PMMA Solar Concentrators

The effect of dye concentrations of perylene, RH-6G and K₁ doped in polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) as matrix material, on the electrical properties of some fluorescent solar concentrator (FSC) have been investigated. The samples were prepared by dissolving grains of both PMMA and dyes in chloroform, which were then left at room temperature to evaporate the solvent. The samples were characterized by differential scanning calorimeter (DSC). The results of both dc conductivity (σ_dc) and ac conductivity (σ_ac) showed that the total conductivity σ_tot(w) is higher than σ_dc and the activation energy of σ_tot is lower than that of (σ_dc) due to the increase of the applied field frequency, which enhances the carrier jumping and subsequently the conductivity value. The dielectric properties (dielectric constant (?′), dielectric loss (?″), and dielectric tangent (tanδ) have been studied. They show that ?′ increases by increasing the concentration of the dyes doped in PMMA. All the dielectric constants, the dielectric loss and loss tangent temperature dependence, show a peak value affected by the dye concentration as well the frequency changes. The temperature dependence of the exponent S shows that at low temperature the conduction obeys a quantum mechanical tunnel model, while at high temperature the conduction obeys the correlated barrier-hopping model.     

Structural,dielectric and magnetic properties of Bi–Mn doped SmFeO3

We have studied the structural, magnetic, dielectric and impedance properties of the Sm_1-xBi_xFe_1-yMn_yO₃ [SmFeO₃ (SFO), Sm_0.9Bi_0.1FeO₃ (SBFO), Sm_0.9Bi_0.1Fe_0.9Mn_0.1O₃ (SBFMO)] polycrystalline samples synthesized by solid-state reaction method. Rietveld refinement of room temperature (RT) powder x-ray diffraction pattern confirms the orthorhombic crystal structure with Pnma/Pbnm space group. The average particle size of Bi doped and co-doped (Bi–Mn) samples determined from SEM analysis are 5.6 μm and 5.2 μm, respectively. Room temperature field-dependent magnetization increases, suggesting the presence of magnetic contribution due to the Rare earth-Fe ion interaction which persists even at RT. However, with co-doping of Bi and Mn, a decrease in magnetization is observed, which corresponds to the dilution of Fe³⁺-Fe³⁺ interactions due to the presence of Mn³⁺ ions. The observed values of magnetization at 90 kOe for Bi doped sample is (2.87 emu/g) approximately two times and for codoped (0.7 emu/g) sample is nearly half of that of pristine sample (1.51 emu/g). Dielectric measurements as a function of frequency/temperature and impedance analysis using equivalent circuit model reveal grain and grain boundary contributions of SBFO (at high temperature) and SBFMO (for all temperature) samples towards the electrical properties indicating the electrically heterogeneous nature of these samples. However, for SFO sample grain contribution is dominant. Observed value of dielectric constant varies from ~10³-10⁴ with Bi–Mn doping. The conduction mechanism of the studied samples has been explained by considering Jonscher power law. Arrhenius law fitting of AC conductivity data manifests two types of conduction mechanisms in these samples. The depressing nature of the semicircular arc observed in the Nyquist plot of all the samples indicates the presence of a non-Debye type of relaxation.     

Impedance spectroscopy and conduction mechanism of magnetoelectric hexaferrite BaFe10.2Sc1.8O19

The dielectric relaxation and conduction properties of hexaferrite BaFe_10.2Sc_1.8O₁₉ (BFSO) ceramics have been investigated by impedance spectroscopy (1 Hz-2 GHz) at various temperatures (253-473 K). The frequency dependence of impedance and modulus spectra of BFSO shows that its dielectric responses are thermally activated. The scaling behaviors of impedance spectra indicate that the distribution of dielectric relaxation times in BFSO is temperature independent. The frequency-dependent conductivity spectra follow the universal-power-law at high temperatures but deviate slightly at low temperatures. An enormous increase in relaxation/conduction activation energies of BFSO above 413 K is also observed in both impedance and conductivity spectra. This indicates that at high temperatures, relaxation/conduction processes may be contributed mainly by the movable oxygen vacancies, whereas at low-temperature electron hopping dominates. The conductivity fitting results further suggest that electron/oxygen vacancy-related small polaron hopping should be the most probable conduction mechanism for BFSO.     

Co-substitution tailored dielectric relaxation and electrical conduction in lanthanum orthoferrite

Effect of co-substitution on structural, dielectric and electrical conduction property of LaFeO₃ is reported. Partial co-substitution of La by Na and Fe by Mn has been observed to cause substantial modification in structural property including lattice distortion in LaFeO_3. Evidence of Jahn teller distortion has been noticed in Raman analysis due to presence of Mn³⁺ Jahn teller active ion at Fe lattice site. Raman analysis also indicated Fe–O–Fe bond weakening in LaFeO₃ on co-substitution. Dielectric response provides evidence of temperature dependent polydispersive relaxations contributed by combined effect of dipolar and space charge relaxations. Temperature response of dielectric parameter (ε_r and tan δ) provided indication of phase transition that is similar to found in ferroelectric materials. The dielectric relaxations are studied in the framework of complex impedance and electrical modulus spectrum. The electrical response comprises both grain and grain boundary contribution in the reported polycrystalline sample and it seems consistent with brick layer model of electrical equivalent circuit. It is evident from the activation energy estimation from modulus and conductivity plot that the small polarons hoping are the key factor in both dielectric ordering as well as electrical conduction mechanism in co-substituted LaFeO₃.     

Possible relaxation and conduction mechanism in W6+doped SrBi4Ti4O15 ceramic

Tungsten (W) doped Strontium Bismuth Titanate ceramics with general formula [SrBi_4-2x/3Ti_4−xW_xO₁₅ (x=0.00,0.02,0.04,0.06,0.08,0.1)] were prepared via solid-state reaction route. The X-ray diffraction analysis confirmed a single phase system with orthorhombic structure for all the prepared samples. The relaxation and conduction mechanism were studied by using impedance spectroscopy analysis. The shifting of Z"_max and M"_max peak to the higher frequency side in accordance with temperature for all the sample are found to obey the Arrhenius law, indicates the presence of relaxation process in the material. The complex impedance plots showed that both grain and grain boundary are responsible for the conduction mechanism and the grain and grain boundary resistance decreases with temperature showing NTCR behaviour in all the compositions. The kinetic analysis of frequency dependence ac conductivity have been discussed in terms of polaron mechanism and the dc conductivity shows a thermally activated process. We have observed that the charge carrier hopping and doubly ionized oxygen vacancy (Vₒ••) are mainly responsible for the conduction mechanism in the systems.     

The order addition effect of carbon black/graphite on the electrical properties of rubber composites

Acrylonitrile‐butadiene rubber (NBR) filled with two types of fillers [high abrasion furnace carbon black (C), and graphite (G)] is made to find out the effect of order addition of C and G on the electrical conductivity of the composites. The temperature and frequency dependence of the (dc and ac) conductivity and dielectric constants have been measured. The values of the thermal expansion and thermal conduction coefficient of NBR rubber lead to the difference in I–V characteristics between CB‐ and G‐NBR rubber composites during the measurement. When graphite is first added to NBR, the electrical conductivity of (GC_20‐20) matrix is larger than that of the (CG_20‐20) matrix, whereas the carbon black is added first. At low temperature (T < 90°C), the higher values of the dielectric constant (ε′) for the sample GC_20‐20 compared with that of the CG_20‐20 sample is due to the conducting nature and structure of graphite, whereas the carbon shows less crystallinity and conductivity than graphite. Opposite behavior is noticed at temperature higher than 90°C. The dc conductivity of all composites increases with increasing temperature exhibiting a positive temperature coefficient of conductivity (PTCσ). The conductivity at high temperatures region is controlled by the thermal excitation transport mechanism, whereas at low temperatures region is dominated by tunneling process. The increase in the value of dielectric constant (ε′) with temperatures for the sample GC_20‐20 compared with the sample CG_20‐20 is due to the conducting nature and structure of graphite, and the carbon less crystalline than the graphite. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2012     

Filling effect on the structural,electrical, and magnetic properties of PVAc/Co composites

Polyvinyl‐acetate/‐cobalt (PVAc/Co) composite films were prepared using a casting technique. The structural and physical properties were studied using X‐ray diffraction (XRD), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, dielectric measurements, direct current magnetic susceptibility (χ_dc), and electron spin resonance (ESR). The XRD patterns revealed that the incorporation of Co particles increases the amorphization of PVAc and Co oxide formations. The DSC results suggest that the thermal properties obviously improved. Frequency and filler concentration dependence of the dielectric constant (ε′) and AC conductivity (σ_AC) were measured at room temperature in the frequency range 20 Hz to 3 MHz of pure PVAc and PVAc/Co composite films. The dielectric constant shows usual dielectric dispersion behavior. The dielectric constant and AC conductivity increased with the increase in Co content. The variation of σ_AC is attributed to hopping of polarons and bipolarons in the composites. The filling level dependence of the effective magnetic moment (μ_eff) has been evaluated. The ESR spectra exhibit a peak of an increasing depth as Co content increases. The control of thermal stability, dielectric and magnetic moment of the composites films is interesting for applications such as electric and magnetic sensors. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2012     

Dielectric relaxation and electrical conductivity in Ca5Nb4TiO17 ceramics

The temperature dependence of dielectric properties and electrical conduction of Ca₅Nb₄TiO₁₇ ceramics were characterized in a broad temperature range. A dielectric anomaly with strong frequency dispersion was detected in the temperature range 700–1010 °C. This dielectric relaxation could be almost removed completely by annealing in an oxidizing atmosphere. Complex impedance analysis confirmed the electrical inhomogeneity of the ceramics with different contributions from the bulk and grain boundaries. This suggests that the main mechanism for the observed relaxation is the Maxwell–Wagner polarization. ac conductivity results revealed the variation of conduction mechanism with increasing temperatures from localized hopping to long-range motion of the doubly ionized oxygen vacancies.     

Effect of substitution of La3+ on structural and electrical properties of Sr(Fe0.5Nb0.5)O3 ceramic

In this work, we have mainly reported the effect of lanthanum substitution on structural, dielectric, impedance and transport properties of strontium iron niobate (i.e., Sr_1-xLa_x(Fe_0.5Nb_0.5)_1-x/4O₃ (x = 0, 0.05, 0.1, 0.15, 0.2)). The materials were synthesized using standard ceramic technology. The preliminary structural analysis was done by using the room temperature X-ray diffraction data. The samples of higher concentrations (x = 0.15 and x = 0.20) show the development of an additional phase (i.e., LaNbO₄ and Sr₃La₄O₉). Studies of frequency and temperature dependence of dielectric parameters exhibit an anomaly and relaxor behavior in the compounds. The electrical impedance and modulus analysis of frequency and temperature-dependent data show the contributions of grains and grain boundaries in the resistive and capacitive properties of the compounds. The study of transport properties of AC conductivity has provided the conduction and relaxation mechanism. The substitution of La³⁺ has significantly changed the dielectric constant, tangent loss, and transport properties of the material.     

Dielectric and impedance spectroscopy of Sr(Bi0.5Nb0.5)O3 ceramics

A lead free polycrystalline material Sr(Bi_0.5Nb_0.5)O₃ was prepared using a high-temperature solid-state reaction technique. Preliminary X-rays diffraction studies exhibit the formation of a single-phase compound in the orthorhombic crystal system. The study of microstructure of gold-coated pellet by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) shows well-defined and homogeneous distribution of grains on the surface of the sample. Detailed studies of dielectric parameters (i.e., ε_r and tan δ) of the compound as a function of temperature at selected frequencies reveal that the values of these parameters are almost independent of temperature. Studies of impedance and related parameters exhibit that these electrical properties of the material are strongly dependent on temperature, and bear a good correlation with the microstructure of the material. The decrease in value of bulk resistance on increasing temperature suggests the existence of negative temperature co-efficient of resistance (NTCR) in the material. Studies of electric modulus show the presence of hopping conduction mechanism in the material with non-exponential-type of relaxation. The nature of variation of dc conductivity with temperature confirms the Arrhenius- and NTCR- types of behaviors of the material. The ac conductivity spectrum provides a typical-signature of an ionic conducting system, and is found to obey Jonscher′s universal power law.     

Dielectric determination of cure state during non-isothermal cure

As a result of increased interest from industry in using dielectric cure monitoring, a need has arisen for simplifying frequency, cure, and temperature dependent data so that control decisions can be readily made. Techniques utilizing data covering several decades of frequency now exist for separating ionic conduction levels from dipole and electrode polarization responses. Ionic conduction levels are particularly useful since they can be correlated to both viscosity and extent of cure. In addition to being a function of extent of cure, dielectric properties are also influenced by temperature. This dependence often makes the dielectric response more difficult to interpret. This paper investigates two methods for overcoming the temperature dependence of the dielectric response during nonisothermal cure. The first method utilizes recent WLF modeling techniques and extends them with the end result of extracting T_g in real time during cure. The second technique involves measuring the temperature dependence of uncured and cured material. Utilizing the correlation between log ionic conductivity and extent of cure, which has been noted by previous researchers, the normalized conductivity can be converted to a cure index. Several examples including epoxy, polyurethane, and a UV cured photoresist are presented, showing data before normalization and after both T_g and cure index determination.     

Analysis of the Structural Characterization,Electric Transport,and Dielectrical Relaxation Behavior of Ba0.97La0.02Ti0.95Nb0.04O3 Electronic Ceramic

Ba_0.97La_0.02Ti_0.95Nb_0.04O₃ polycrystalline sample was produced through molten-salt technique. The morphological, structural, impedance and optical properties were investigated by scanning electron microscope, X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), and ultraviolet–visible diffuse reflectance spectrophotometer, respectively. XRD pattern illustrate a single-pure phase of tetragonal perovskite structure with P4/mmm group space. No impurity was noticed for present ceramic. The optical band gap (E_g) values were calculated from the absorption spectra. Notwithstanding, electrical and dielectric properties were used to analyze the dielectric constant and loss, the modulus as well as dissipation factors as functions of both frequencies and d.c bias voltage for obtained sample. The frequency (f) dependence dielectric study shows that the value of dielectric constant is high at lower frequencies and decreases with increase in frequency. It is obvious to comprehend how to overwhelm the formation of inter-grain and intra-grain, and how to restrain the propagation of Ti species is an important challenge for the realization of an alternative “high-k gate dielectric” applications. Thus, some kind of semicircular arc caused by a variety of electrically active regions can originate from grains, grain boundaries, and electrode polarization effects. The modulus mechanism indicates the non-Debye type of conduction relaxation in the material, which is supported by impedance data.

     

Phase evolution,dielectric and impedance spectroscopic study of SrNb2O6 columbite phase

Strontium niobate SrNb₂O₆ has been synthesized by columbite solid-state reaction method and characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and temperature as well as frequency dependence of dielectric and impedance study. XRD analysis indicates single phase formation of the compound with ∼180 nm crystallite size. Study of SEM micrographs pointed out that prepared material has good sinterability and enough density with homogeneous grain distribution. It was found that the magnitude of relative dielectric constant (?_r) was relatively high with low dielectric loss compared with reported columbite compounds. Impedance spectroscopy was used to characterize the electrical behavior of the compound. AC impedance spectrum results indicate that the relaxation mechanism of the material is temperature dependent and has bulk and grain boundary contribution in different temperature ranges.     

Structural and impedance analysis of Bi0.5Na0.5Ti0.80Mn0.20O3 ceramics

The Bi_0.5Na_0.5Ti_0.80Mn_0.20O₃ ceramic was synthesized by a conventional solid-state reaction technique. Rietveld refinement of X-ray diffraction data confirms the rhombohedral crystal structure of the compound with R3c space group. The optical band gap energy of the compound is found to be 1.93 eV. The substitution of 20% Mn ions at the Ti sites results in the improved dielectric characteristics and a shift in the ferroelectric to paraelectric electric phase transition peak from 330 °C to 370 °C in the material. The frequency dispersion of dielectric constant and its footprint in the Nyquist and Cole-Cole plots have been analyzed. The analysis of complex impedance and modulus spectroscopy confirms the non-Debye type of relaxation mechanisms in the material with contributions from both the grain and grain boundary to the electrical properties. The frequency dependence of AC conductivity data exhibits overlapping large polaron tunneling conduction mechanism in the compound.     

Microstructure,charge carrier conduction mechanism model,dielectric properties and leakage current analysis of Dy2FeMnO6 nanomaterial

The structure, microstructure, charge transport properties, dielectric properties, and leakage current density of Dy₂FeMnO₆ synthesized by the auto combustion method are investigated in this study. The monoclinic crystal structure of the sample with space group P2₁/n was observed. The CoO₆ and MnO₆ octahedra were found distorted and tilted. The calculation of the bond valence sum confirmed the +3 and + 3/+4 oxidation states of Fe and Mn, respectively. The average crystallite, particle, and grain sizes were 43.01, 94, and 187.68 nm, respectively. The anticipated stoichiometry of the constituent elements was confirmed by energy–dispersive X–ray spectra. The frequency–dependent conductivity obeyed Jonscher’s power law, and the frequency exponent associated with this law increased with temperature, indicating the non–overlapping small polaron tunnelling (NSPT) mechanism for charge conduction. The enhancement of the dielectric loss tangent with temperature was consistent with the dc conductivity. The frequency dependence of dielectric properties was explained using Havriliak–Negami formalism. The sample followed Vogel–Fulcher law, which is similar to the relaxor ferroelectrics, and the ferroelectricity increased with frequency. Conduction, migration, and dielectric relaxation all have similar activation energies. The sample exhibited low leakage current density, which followed Schottky emission with a barrier height of 0.02(4) eV. The obtained results were compared with other rare–earth–based double perovskites.