Impedance and a.c. conductivity studies on Ba(Nd0.2Ti0.6Nb0.2)O3 ceramic prepared through conventional and microwave sintering route

Electrical conduction studies on Ba(Nd_0.2Ti_0.6Nb_0.2)O₃ ceramic samples prepared through conventional and microwave sintering route are presented in this paper. D.C. and a.c. conductivities of these samples as a function of temperature from 300–900 K have been studied. Two types of conduction processes are evident from the frequency dependant conductivity plots, i.e. low-frequency conduction due to short-range hopping and high-frequency conduction due to the localized relaxation (reorientational) hopping mechanism. Grain and grain boundary contributions to the conductivity in these samples are obtained from impedance/admittance measurements via equivalent circuit modelling.     

Electrical Relaxation in Mixed Alkali Bi2O3-K2O-Li2O-Fe2O3 Glasses

A new glass system(Bi2O3)50(Fe2O3)10(Li2O)x(K2O)40-x, where x changes in steps of 5 mole fraction between 0 and 40, was selected to study the electrical relaxation and the mixed alkali effect(MAE)phenomena.Measurements of ac conductivity σac, dielectric permittivity ε' and loss factor tanδ in the frequency range of 0.12～102 kHz and in the temperature range of 300～650 K were carried out. The temperature dependence of the ac conductivity shows a slow increasing rate at low temperature and high frequency and a rapid increase at high temperature and low frequency. At constant temperature, the ac conductivity is found to be proportional to ωs, where s is the frequency exponent, which is less than 1. Analysis of the conductivity data and the frequency exponent shows that the overlapping large polaron tunnelling(OLPT)model of ions is the most favorable mechanism for the ac conduction in the present glass system. The ac response, the dc conductivity and dielectric relaxation have the same activation energy and they originate from the same basic transport mechanism. The results of the dielectric permittivity show no maximum peak in the temperature and frequency range studied. This absence of maximum peak is an indication of non-ferroelectric behavior of all the studied samples. The MAE has been detected in the ac conductivity, which is the same as the classical MAE in the dc conductivity. The electrical parameters such as dielectric permittivity ε' and real dielectric modulus M'show a typical minimum deviation from linearity by about two orders of magnitude. The loss factor tanδ and the imaginary dielectric modulus M" are insignificantly dependent on composition even at the same transition temperature Tg.     

Electrical conduction in the system Sr0·90La0·10Ti0·90M′0·10O3 (M′ = Co,Ni or Cr)

We have successfully synthesized the system Sr_{1 −x} La _x Ti_{1 −x} M′ _x O₃ where M′ = Cr, Ni and Co by using conventional solid state ceramic method. Powder X-ray diffraction patterns of the different compositions show the formation of single phase materials. Measurement of AC conductivity as a function of frequency at different temperatures in the range 300–550 K show that conduction in these compositions occurs due to hopping of charge carriers between localized transition metal ion sites.     

Structural,double Jonscher response and non-Debye-type relaxor behavior of Ba0.75Sr0.25Ti0.9Zn0.2O3 ceramic

A new perovskite Ba_0.75Sr_0.25Ti_0.9Zn_0.2O₃ (BSTZO) was synthesized via Molten Salt route. The Rietveld analysis of the X-ray pattern at room temperature indicated a tetragonal structure (P4mm) of the BSTZO ceramic. The conduction process and electrical behavior of the BSTZO ceramic were examined in relation to frequency and temperature. The frequency dependence of conductivity spectra follow double Jonscher law. The latter side was described using a both theoretical conduction models assigned to the Correlated Barrier Hopping model at low temperatures and Non-overlapping Small Polaron Tunneling mechanism at high temperatures. Based on the scaling model, the data merged into a unique master curve, which affirms the validity of the Time -Temperature Superposition Principle. The impedance graph investigations showed that the relaxation in BSTZO is a non-Debye process. The dielectric response confirmed the dominance of the Maxwell–Wagner effect in conduction phenomenon. In addition, the dielectric characteristics exhibited a colossal permittivity, which supports the prospective use of the BSTZO ceramic in electronic devices. In the thermal study, the relaxation processes observed by electrical conductivity, impedance, and modulus are associated with oxygen vacancies.

     

Impedance spectroscopy study of polycrystalline Bi6Fe2Ti3O18

The electrical properties of polycrystalline Bi₆Fe₂Ti₃O₁₈ are investigated by impedance spectroscopy in the temperature range 30–550°C. The imaginary part of impedance as a function of frequency shows Debye like relaxation. Impedance data are presented in the Nyquist plot which is used to identify an equivalent circuit and the fundamental circuit parameters are determined at different temperatures. The grain and grain-boundary contributions are estimated. The results of bulk a.c. conductivity as a function of temperature and frequency are presented. The activation energies for the a.c. conductivity are calculated. The polaron hopping frequencies are estimated from the a.c. conductivity data.     

Electrical transport mechanisms in a-Se95M5 films (M = Ga, Sb, Bi)

The temperature dependence of direct current (dc) conductivity has been reported in thin films of a-Se₉₅M₅ (where M = Ga, Sb, Bi), in the temperature range 219-375 K, in order to identify the conduction mechanism and to observe the doping effect of different metals on amorphous selenium. It is found that the conduction in high temperature range (314-375 K) is due to thermally activated tunneling of charge carriers in the band tails of localized states; and in the low temperature range (219-314 K) conduction takes place through variable range hopping in the localized states near the Fermi level. Current-voltage (I-V) measurements at high electric fields (the field dependence of dc conductivity) have also been carried out for the samples of present system. The analysis of data shows the existence of space charge limited conduction (SCLC) in these glassy alloys. The density of localized states near the Fermi level is calculated for these alloys using dc conductivity (Mott parameters) and SCLC measurements data. The properties have been found to be highly composition dependent.     

Structural, dielectric and electrical properties of Li2Pb2La2W2Ti4Nb4O30 ceramic

Li₂Pb₂La₂W₂Ti₄Nb₄O₃₀ complex ferroelectric oxide was prepared by using a high-temperature solid-state reaction method (calcination temperature, ~1100 °C and sintering temperature, ~1150 °C). Room temperature preliminary structural analysis shows formation of a single-phase compound. The nature of microstructure (i.e. grain distribution, presence of voids, grain size, etc) recorded using scanning electron microscope (SEM) clearly suggests the formation of high quality and density of pellet samples. Studies of temperature dependence of dielectric constant, tangent loss and polarization show the existence of ferroelectric phase transition in the material at high temperature (307 °C). Detailed studies of temperature dependence of electrical parameters (i.e. impedance (400?475 °C), modulus, conductivity, etc) of the material clearly suggest a strong correlation between its microstructure (i.e. bulk, grain boundary, etc) and electrical properties. The nature of temperature variation of d.c. conductivity showed an Arrhenius behaviour of the material. A signature of ionic conductivity in the material was observed in its a.c. conductivity spectrum. The nature of frequency dependence of a.c. conductivity of the material can be explained by Jonscher’s universal power law. Electrical transport properties of the material show existence of non-exponential type of conductivity relaxation.     

Y2O3稳定ZrO2材料的电导活化能

在313－473K温度范围内测定了一种Y2O3稳定ZrO2材料（YSZ）的交流电导率谱，进而导出了材料的直流电导率并分析了其随温度的变化关系。研究发现：在低温下材料的电导尖化能随温度的升高而增大。这一实验现象与在高温下所观察到的活化能随温度升高而降低规律截然相反。通过分析材料中氧空位的解缔及迁移机制，对YSZ材料中电导活化能随温度的变化关系作出了一个合理的解释。     

Investigations on gradient a.c. conductivity characteristics of bamboo (Dendrocalamus strictus)

Effect of temperature and frequency variation on a.c. conductivity of bamboo was determined by using a 4274 A Multi-Frequencies LCR meter. Electrical measurements were carried out in the temperature range 24–120°C and in the frequency range 4–100 kHz. It was observed that the a.c. conductivity increased initially and then decreased with increase of temperature and frequencies. The increase of distance from outer surface to the inner surface side increased the a.c. conductivity values and showed the grading in a.c. conductivity behaviour. Two phases of a.c. conductivity behaviour with temperature exist in bamboo. At 10 mm distance a.c. conductivity suddenly increases which is the critical depth from skin for this bamboo. Increase of temperature, at all the frequencies increases the a.c. conductivity initially and then decreases. Downward peaks in a.c. conductivities are observed at all the frequencies due to the presence of moisture in bamboo, which liberated on heating. Sharp peak is observed in case of sample 4, which is inner most strip. Maximum sharp peak is observed at lowest 4 kHz frequency.     

Effect of thermal treatment conditions on the properties of onion-like carbon based polymer composite

Dielectric properties of onion-like carbon (OLC) and polyurethane composite prepared using different procedures were investigated in the frequency range up to 1 MHz. We show that broadband dielectric spectroscopy is powerful tool to determine technological fingerprints in the studied materials. It is demonstrated that cured samples annealed at temperature close to the melting point (450 K) exhibit substantially higher dielectric permittivity and electrical conductivity in comparison with untreated samples. With the increase of temperature of an untreated sample, its dielectric permittivity, electric conductivity and critical frequency increase, while Maxwell–Wagner mean relaxation time and aggregate sizes of OLC decreases. Annealing of the composite at temperature close to the melting temperature produce sample with more homogeneous distribution of OLC. The temperature dependence of conductivity of the homogeneous sample is mainly caused by a weak positive temperature coefficient effect.     

Conductivity and dielectric studies on (Na0·4Ag0·6)2PbP2O7 compound

Electrical properties of the (Na_0·4Ag_0·6)₂PbP₂O₇ compound were studied using complex impedance spectroscopy in the frequency range 200 Hz–5 MHz and temperature range (484–593 K). Combined impedance and modulus plots were used to analyse the sample behaviour as a function of frequency at different temperatures. Temperature dependence of d.c. and a.c. conductivity indicates that electrical conduction in the material is a thermally activated process. The frequency dependence of the a.c. conduction activation energy was found to obey a mathematical formula.     

Structural, dielectric and transport properties of Pb(Mno.5Wo.5)O3

Polycrystalline Pb(Mn_0.5W_0.5)O₃, a ferroelectric oxide having perovskite structure, was prepared by high temperature solid state reaction technique. Preliminary X-ray diffraction analysis confirms single phase formation with the lattice parametersa = 7.2501 Å,b = 8.1276 Å andc = 12.0232 Å. Room temperature dielectric constant (ε′) and loss tangent (tan δ) were scanned with respect to frequency in the range 100 Hz-1 MHz. Detailed study of dielectric constant and electrical conductivity reveals a phase change around 400 K, which is quite different from those in the other materials of the same type. Further, the seebeck coefficient (α) is temperature independent. The conduction is interpreted as due to small polaron hopping.     

Dielectric and electrical properties of 0.5(BiGd0.05Fe0.95O3)-0.5(PbZrO3) composite

The 0.5(BiGd_0.05Fe_0.95O₃)-0.5(PbZrO₃) composite was synthesized by means of a high temperature solid-state reaction technique using high purity ingredients. Preliminary X-ray structural analysis confirms the formation of the composite. The dielectric constant and loss tangent have been studied. The impedance parameters have been measured using an impedance analyzer in a wide range of frequency (10²–10⁶ Hz) at different temperatures. The Nyquist plot suggests the contribution of bulk effect only and the bulk resistance decreases with a rise in temperature. Electrical impedance confirms the presence of grain effect and hopping mechanism in the electrical transport of the material. The dc conductivity increases with a rise of temperature. The frequency variation of ac conductivity shows that the compound obeys Jonscher’s universal power law and from Jonscher’s power law fit confirms the Small Polaron (SP) tunneling effect. Temperature dependence of dc and ac conductivity indicates that electrical conduction in the material is a thermally activated process.     

Dielectric and impedance characteristics of Ba(Bi0.5Nb0.5)O3 ceramics

A lead free polycrystalline material Ba(Bi_0.5Nb_0.5)O₃ was prepared using a high-temperature mixed oxide technique using high purity ingredients. The formation of the material in monoclinic crystal structure was confirmed by an X-ray structural analysis at room temperature. The nature and texture of microstructure by scanning electron microscopy show that the compound has well defined grains uniformly distributed throughout the surface of the sample. Detailed studies of dielectric and impedance properties of the material, carried out in the frequency range of (1 kHz–1 MHz) at different temperatures (30 °C to 475 °C), have shown many interesting properties. Dielectric study showed an existence of diffuse phase transition around 317 °C. The temperature dependence of impedance parameters (impedance, modulus etc.) of the material exhibits a strong correlation of its micro-structure (i.e., bulk, grain boundary, etc.) with the electrical parameters. An existence of negative temperature coefficient of resistance (NTCR) type behavior in the material similar to that of semiconductors was also observed. The complex electric modulus analysis indicates the existence of hopping conduction mechanism in the system with non-exponential type of conductivity relaxation. The nature of variation of dc conductivity with temperature confirms the Arrhenius behavior of the material. The ac conductivity spectra show a typical signature of an ionic conducting system, and are found to obey Jonscher’s universal power law. The temperature dependent pre-exponential factor (A) shows peak and frequency exponent (n) possesses a minimum at transition temperature.     

Structural, dielectric and electrical properties of Sm-modified Pb(SnTi)O3 ferroelectric system

We have synthesized (Pb_1-xSm_x)(Sn_yTi_1-y)_1-x/4O₃ (PSmST) polycrystalline ferroelectric ceramics with x = 005, 007, 01 and y = 0.45 by a solid-state reaction technique and performed preliminary X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, detailed temperature and frequency dependence dielectric measurements on them. The a.c. conductivity has been investigated over a wide range of temperature and the activation energy (E _a.c) has also been calculated. It is observed that (i) the dielectric permittivity (e) and loss tangent (tan °) are dependent on frequency, (ii) the temperature of dielectric permittivity maximum shifts toward lower temperature side with the increase of samarium ion (Sm₃) concentration at the Pb sites, and (iii) observed and calculated d-values of XRD patterns show that the compounds have been formed in orthorhombic single phase.     

Dramatic effect of multiwalled carbon nanotubes on the electrical properties of alumina based ceramic nanocomposites

We report recent work on electrical properties of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs)/alumina composites. The composites with different contents of MWNTs were consolidated by spark plasma sintering and their temperature dependence dc conductivity was scrutinized in the temperature range from 5 to 300 K. The analysis of the temperature dependence of the conductivity suggests that for temperatures higher than 50 K, conduction can be ascribed to thermal fluctuation induced tunneling of the charge carriers through insulating barriers between MWNTs, while at temperatures below 50 K, the conduction can be attributed to three dimensional variable range hopping through MWNTs network in the alumina matrix. The frequency dependence of the conductivity was studied from 5 to 1.3 × 10⁷ Hz. The universality of the ac conduction in MWNT/alumina composites was examined by construction of master curve.     

Structural and electrical properties of Gd3+ ion substituted CoGdxFe(2-x)O4 nano-ferrites

Nano particles of CoGdxFe(2-x)O4, with x = 0.0, 0.1, 0.3, 0.5 have been prepared by chemical co-precipitation method. The as synthesized particles are annealed at 300 degrees C for two hours to improve crystallinity. The X-ray diffraction patterns reveal the single cobalt ferrite phase formation and the average crystallite size decreases to 7 nm in the Gd3+ ion doped sample (with x = 0.5) compared to 27 nm in case of un-doped cobalt ferrite sample. The electrical properties for the different compositions of Gd3+ ion substituted cobalt ferrite material were studied in the frequency range 100 Hz to 10 MHz at room temperature using WK impedance analyzer. It is found that the electrical conductivity of the samples increases with increasing Gd3+ ion concentration. The results of our investigations reveal a strong dependence of material properties on Gd3+ ion doping.     

High oxygen ion conduction in some Bi2O3-Y2O3 (Er2O3) solid solutions

Highly densified bodies (~ 98 % theoretical density) of the Bi₂O₃-Y₂O₃(Er₂O₃) systems containing 30 moles % Y₂O₃ and 20 moles % Er₂O₃ respectively were prepared from both mixed oxides and coprecipitated oxalates. DC ionic conductivity and impedance complex plane analysis on sintered samples were performed. Under oxygen partial pressure ranging from 1 to 10 Pa was found that, samples containing 30 moles % yttria showed a pure ionic conductivity up to an oxygen partial pressure of 10⁻²⁰ Pa. Samples containing 20 moles % erbia, extended its ionic conductivity up to an oxygen partial pressure of 10⁻²² Pa. The impedance analysis shows the presence of only one semicircle at low tempertures and it is attributed to bulk conductivity contribution. The conductivity was higher for the Bi₂O₃-Er₂O₃ sintered solid electrolytes, in such a case, a conductivity as high as 1.38 ohm cm at 700ºC was obtained. The activation enthalpy for the conduction process was calculated in the temperature range from 200º to 700ºC in all the cases. Microstructural development in the sintered sample was also studied.     

DC electrical conduction in heat-treated poly nickel phthalocyanine

Heat treatment of poly nickel phthalocyanine leads to a charge transfer and hence there is an improvement in conductivity by 5 orders of magnitude. DC electrical conductivity measurements have been carried out in the heat-treated samples in the temperature range 270 K-10 K. Mott’s variable range hopping conduction in one dimension is observed in the temperature range 270K-77K and the conductivity remains constant in the temperature range 77K-10K.     

Frequency dependence of the conductivity of amorphous germanium films between 20 Hz and 26 GHz

Conductivity measurements on amorphous Ge films in the frequency range 20 Hz–26 GHz are described. Above 100 MHz the frequency dependence of the conductivity at room temperature satisfied the power law σ∝ω^s with s=0.45-0.7. No saturation of the conductivity was observed. When the Ge films were doped with 0.1–1 at. % Sb the conductivity was frequency independent up to 26 GHz. A.c. hopping conduction seems to be compatible with the experimental results.