Structure and dielectric properties of ZnMn<inf>2</inf>O<inf>4</inf>/NiFe<inf>2</inf>O<inf>4</inf> nanocomposite

Abstract

(1-x)ZnMn2O4/xNiFe2O4 (x = 0, 0.05, 0.1, 0.15, 0.2) nanocomposite system was prepared using the sol–gel technique. Rietveld analysis revealed the presence of two phases ZnMn2O4 and NiFe2O4 for all composites, but with phase percentages different from nominated values of (x). The effect of alloying parameter (x) on the lattice parameters and crystallite size of the obtained phases was also examined. The oxidation states of different ions were determined using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) technique. For the prepared nanocomposite samples, the dependence of dielectric constant, impedance and electric modulus on the frequency and temperature was performed using complex impedance technique. It was found that the obtained samples have ferroelectric characteristics. The degree of correlation for the different nanocomposite samples was explored using ac conductivity.