Delving into the properties of nanostructured Mg ferrite and PEG composites: A comparative study on structure, electrical conductivity, and dielectric relaxation

Enas H El-Ghazzawy; Hesham M H Zakaly; Albandari W Alrowaily; Samia A Saafan; Antoaneta Ene; Nagat M Abo-Aita; Moustafa A Darwish; Di Zhou; Ahmed S Atlam

doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e19745

Delving into the properties of nanostructured Mg ferrite and PEG composites: A comparative study on structure, electrical conductivity, and dielectric relaxation

Heliyon. 2023 Sep 5;9(9):e19745. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e19745. eCollection 2023 Sep.

Authors

Enas H El-Ghazzawy¹, Hesham M H Zakaly^{2

3}, Albandari W Alrowaily⁴, Samia A Saafan¹, Antoaneta Ene⁵, Nagat M Abo-Aita¹, Moustafa A Darwish¹, Di Zhou⁶, Ahmed S Atlam¹

Affiliations

¹ Physics Department, Tanta University, Al-Geish st., Tanta, 31527, Egypt.
² Istinye University, Computer Engineering Department, Istanbul, 34396, Turkey.
³ Institute of Physics and Technology, Ural Federal University, 620002, Yekaterinburg, Russia.
⁴ Department of Physics, College of Science, Princess Nourah Bint Abdulrahman University, P.O. Box 84428, Riyadh, 11671, Saudi Arabia.
⁵ INPOLDE Research Center, Department of Chemistry, Physics and Environment, Dunarea de Jos University of Galati, 47 Domneasca Street, 800008, Galati, Romania.
⁶ Electronic Materials Research Laboratory, Key Laboratory of the Ministry of Education & International Center for Dielectric Research, School of Electronic Science and Engineering, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, 710049, China.

Abstract

Magnesium ferrite (MgFe₂O₄) and polyethylene glycol (PEG) are materials known for their versatility in various applications. This study presents a comprehensive comparative analysis of the electrical conductivity and dielectric relaxation of nanostructured MgFe₂O₄ and its composites with PEG. Through experimentation, it was observed that incorporating PEG into MgFe₂O₄ did not lead to a high relative observed decrease or increase in electrical conductivity at room temperature. The study revealed that the composites maintained stable electrical behavior at room temperature, with a dielectric constant value of around 9 and a loss tangent value of around 0.1 at high frequency (around 7 MHz). The electron-hole hopping mechanism was identified as the underlying cause for the strong dielectric dispersion with frequency. The low dielectric loss and conductivity of the MgFe₂O₄ and PEG/ferrite composites make them promising candidates for high-frequency switching applications and microelectronic devices, particularly in scenarios where negligible eddy currents are essential. Additionally, complex impedance data analysis demonstrated that the capacitive and resistive properties of the composites are primarily attributed to grain boundary processes. This study provides a comprehensive analysis of the electrical and dielectric properties of MgFe₂O₄ and PEG composites and highlights their potential for many applications in materials science, particularly in electrical and electronic devices.

Keywords: Elastic properties; Electrical properties; Ferrite nanoparticles; Nanocomposites; Polyethylene glycol.