Dielectric Properties of Nanocomposites of Silver in a Glass-ceramic Containing the Lithium Niobate Phase

Glass-ceramics containing the LiNbO3 phase were used to grow nanometer-sized silver metal particles with median diameters in the range 10.5–17.3 nm. These nanocomposites showed large values of dielectric constant of the order of 103–104. Bergman's space charge model of a two-component composite gave results that differed from the experimental data. The polarization mechanism was concluded to be electronic in origin. An interrupted metallic strand model developed earlier by Rice and Bernasconi was used to explain the results obtained in the present specimen system.