Study of dielectric and ac impedance properties of citrate-gel synthesized Li0.35Zn0.3Fe2.35O4 ferrite

Nano-crystals of Li0.35Zn0.3Fe2.35O4 ferrite have been synthesized using citrate precursor method. The sample synthesized was sintered at different temperatures in order to vary their crystallite size. The average crystallite size was found in the range 24-57 nm by varying the temperature from 300 to 1,100 A degrees C. X-ray diffraction measurements confirmed the formation of cubic spinel structure at all the sintering temperatures in this work. The high frequency performance of the ferrite samples were estimated by measuring the frequency dispersion of the dielectric constant, dielectric loss and ac electrical conductivity. The dielectric constant has been observed to show normal behavior with frequency and decreases with the decrease in crystallite size. It is also observed that decrease in dielectric constant depends on sintering temperature because of lithium evaporation at higher temperature. A low value of dielectric constant and dielectric loss has been found, which makes them applicable for high frequency applications by decreasing the skin effect. The impedance spectroscopy technique has been used to study the effect of grain and grain boundary on the electrical properties of Li0.35Zn0.3Fe2.35O4 ferrite. The analysis of data shows only one semi-circle corresponding to the grain boundary volume suggesting that the conduction mechanism takes place predominantly through grain boundary volume in the prepared samples.