Temperature and frequency dependence of AC electrical properties of Zn and Ni doped CoFe₂O₄ nanocrystals

Abstract

We have investigated the structure and the electrical properties of CoFe₂O₄, Ni_0.5Co_0.5Fe₂O₄ and Zn_0.5Co_0.5Fe₂O₄ nanoparticles, prepared through a chemical pyrophoric reaction technique. The study of the dielectric constant reveals evidence of Rabinkin and Novikova polarisation in the system. The increased value of the dielectric constant at low frequency is attributed to the presence of interfacial and dipolar polarisation in the system. The impedance for Zn_0.5Co_0.5Fe₂O₄ nanoparticles is found to decrease with increase in temperature, indicating the presence of a temperature-dependent electrical relaxation process in the system. Nyquist plots have been fitted using parallel combinations of grain boundaries resistance and grain boundaries capacitance. The activation energy is estimated from Nyquist plots, dc and ac conductivity data using the Arrhenius relation. This is indicating that the same type of charge carrier is responsible for the relaxation and the conduction processes in the system. Ac conductivity curves follow a double power law, as proposed by Jonscher. The conduction mechanism with temperature is mainly due to the large polaronic hopping in the system.

Keywords:

• Ferrites
• dielectric
• electrical properties

Acknowledgement

We acknowledge the DST Project (No. SR/FTP/PS-019/2012), India for providing us some experimental facilities.