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IJRET: International Journal of Research in Engineering and Technology eISSN: 2319-1163 | pISSN: 2321-7308
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Volume: 03 Issue: 03 | Mar-2014, Available @ http://www.ijret.org 570
EFFECT OF CALCINATION ON THE ELECTRICAL PROPERTIES AND
QUANTUM CONFINEMENT OF Fe2O3 NANOPARTICLES
S. I. Srikrishna Ramya1
, C. K. Mahadevan2
1
Physics Research Centre, S. T. Hindu College, M.S.University, Nagercoil - 629 002, Tamilnadu, India
2
Physics Research Centre, S. T. Hindu College, M.S.University, Nagercoil - 629 002, Tamilnadu, India
Abstract
Fe2O3 nanoparticles have been prepared by a simple solvothermal method using a domestic microwave oven. X-ray powder
diffraction measurement indicates the amorphous nature of the as-prepared sample. Calcined samples were obtained by annealing the
as-prepared sample at different temperatures, viz. 400, 500, 600 and 700o
C. Transmission electron microscopic images indicate that
all the five samples are spherical in shape. AC electrical measurements were carried out on pelletized samples by the parallel plate
capacitor method at various temperatures ranging from 40-130o
C and frequencies ranging from 100 Hz -1 MHz. Results indicate low
AC electrical conductivities and consequently show the occurrence of nano confined states. The exciton Bohr radii obtained from the
dielectric constant values at 40o
C temperature and 1 kHz frequency are 41.8, 54.8, 55.3, 56.3 and 27.0 respectively for the as-
prepared sample and samples calcined at 400, 500, 600 and 700o
C which indicate a strong quantum confinement effect. The
impedance spectra observed exhibit non-ideal behavior.
Keywords: Semiconductors, Magnetic materials, Nanoparticles, Electrical properties
----------------------------------------------------------------------***--------------------------------------------------------------------
1. INTRODUCTION
FeO, Fe2O3 and Fe3O4 are the three main types of iron oxide
nanoparticles. They are considered to be important materials
due to their biocompatibility, catalytic activity, non-toxicity,
low-cost and environmentally friendly nature. In applications
like solar energy transformation, electronics, electrochemistry,
manufacture of magnetic storage media, sorption and
purification processes and catalysis, amorphous ferric oxide
(Fe2O3) plays a key role especially because of its superior
catalytic activity, superparamagnetic behavior and the large
specific surface area of the nanoparticles [1].
The ferric oxide has four crystallographic phases, viz. -Fe2O3
(hematite), -Fe2O3, -Fe2O3 (maghemite) and -Fe2O3 [2].
Recently, we have reported [2] the preparation by a simple
route and chemical, structural, optical and magnetic
characterization of the four nanophases of Fe2O3, viz. - in the
amorphous condition (as-prepared) and - , - (slightly mixed
with - ), and - in the crystalline state. As these
nanostructured materials are also electrically important, it
becomes necessary to investigate their electrical properties.
The nanoparticles often exhibit unusual electric behaviors
different from that of their bulk counterparts owing to finite
size effects. The interest in understanding the electrical
properties of transition metal oxides is being renewed because
of their potential use in the development of novel electronic
devices. It has been discovered that nanoscaling of transition
metal oxides can have a considerable impact on their chemical
behavior, and that they can exhibit distinctive properties
including high dielectric constants, efficient charge separation
and chemical surface reactivity [3]. The dielectric properties
of a number of oxides in their films form have been
investigated for electrical applications [4-6]. Bonaedy et al [7]
have investigated the magneto-dielectric property of
polycrystalline -Fe2O3. Hasegawa et al [8] have investigated
the electrical and magnetic properties of -Fe2O3 (001)
epitaxial films. Recently, Naresh and Bhowmic [9] have
observed that both magnetic softness and electrical
conductivity increase with the decrease of grain size in the
case of -Fe1.4Ti0.6O3.
It is known that quantum confinement effects arise when the
size of the particles fall below the exciton bohr radius of the
material [10]. Also, when the particle (grain) size is smaller
than the electron mean free path, grain boundary scattering
dominates which results in dramatic changes in electrical
conductivity and polarizability, etc. [11]. The electrical
property and charge confinement effect of quantum dots
(QDs) can be accounted by the dielectric constant.
Although several reports are available on magnetic and other
properties of Fe2O3 nanoparticles, reports on electrical
properties are limited. Also, effect of calcinations on the
electrical properties has not been reported. In the present
article, we report on the AC electrical measurements carried
out on Fe2O3 nanoparticles (prepared by a simple solvothermal
method) in the frequency range 100 Hz-1 MHz and in the
temperature range 40-130o
C with emphasis on the dependence
of calcination temperature.
IJRET: International Journal of Research in Engineering and Technology eISSN: 2319-1163 | pISSN: 2321-7308
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Volume: 03 Issue: 03 | Mar-2014, Available @ http://www.ijret.org 571
2. MATERIALS AND METHODS
All the chemical reagents used are of Analytical Reagent (AR)
grade and were used without further purification. The Fe2O3
nanoparticles were prepared by the simple solvothermal
method using a domestic microwave oven reported previously
by us [2]. Ferric chloride and urea were used as the precursors
and ethylene glycol as the solvent.
X-ray powder diffraction (PXRD) measurements were carried
out using an automated diffractometer (XPERT PRO
PANalytical) with CuK radiation (=1.54056Ǻ) to
understand the crystallinity of the as-prepared sample. The as-
prepared sample was calcined at different temperatures, viz.
400, 500, 600 and 700o
C for 1h in each case in air and then
brought to room temperature naturally. Morphology and
microstructure were recorded by using a PHILIPS Technai-10
instrument for the as-prepared and three calcined (at 400, 500
and 600o
C) samples and a HITACHI H-800 TEM instrument
for the sample calcined at 700o
C.
The dielectric measurements (i.e. capacitance, Cp and
dielectric loss factor, tan δ) were made to an accuracy of + 1%
at nine different frequencies, viz. 100 Hz, 500 Hz, 1 kHz, 5
kHz, 10 kHz, 50 kHz, 100 kHz, 500 kHz and 1 MHz, and in
each case, at four different temperatures, viz.40, 70, 100 and
130o
C by the parallel plate capacitor method for the palletized
samples (hydraulically pressed with a pressure of 4 tons) using
an LCR meter (Agilent 4284 A) in a way similar to that
adopted by Mahadevan and his co-workers [11, 12]. The
dielectric parameters, viz. dielectric constant (both real and
imaginary parts, viz. ' and '' ) and AC electrical
conductivity (ζac) were determined using the measured Cp and
tan δ values.
The real and imaginary parts of the dielectric constant were
calculated using the following relations:
(1)
and
(2)
Where o is the permittivity of free space and is equal to 8.854
x10-12
F/m, d is the thickness of the pellet and A is the area of
cross-section of the pellet. The AC conductivity of the sample
was calculated using the relation:
(3)
where ω is the angular frequency (ω = 2πf where f is the
frequency of the applied AC field). The impedance
measurements (i.e. impedance, Z and phase angle) were
carried out on the pellets to an accuracy of +1% with Agilent
4284A LCR meter in the frequency range 100 Hz -1 MHz at
four different temperatures, viz. 40, 70, 100 and 130o
C in a
way similar to that adopted by Saravanan and Mahadevan
[13]. The cole-cole plots were drawn by finding the real Z (Z')
and imaginary Z (Z") values from the measured Z and phase
angle values. The exciton bohr radius (aB in nm) was
estimated by using the relation [11]:
(4)
Where r is the dielectric
constant (i.e. ' here) , me
*
and mh
*
are the effective
masses of electron and hole respectively, e is the electronic
charge and h is the Planck’s constant. We have used the '
value observed at 40o
C temperature and 1 kHz frequency and
a value of 12.5/mo (where mo is the electron rest mass) [14] for
the bracketed item in relation (4).
The porosity of the pellet was calculated using the relation:
(5)
Where D0 is the apparent density of the pellet determined by
assuming the cylindrical shape of the pellet and using the
relation:
(6)
Where m and v are mass and volume respectively of the pellet
The bulk density (Dx) was calculated using the relation:
(7)
Where Z is the number of molecules per unit cell, M is the
molecular weight, N is the Avogadro’s number and V is the
volume of the unit cell.
3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Figure 1 shows the photograph of the as-prepared and calcined
samples along with the corresponding pallets. The PXRD
pattern of the as-prepared sample is shown in Figure 2. Figure
3 shows the transmission electron microscopic (TEM) images
observed. Table 1 contains the particle (grain) sizes (D)
estimated through TEM analysis (reported in [2]), the bulk








 **22
2
11
4 he
r
B
mme
h
a


A
dCp
0
'

 
 tan''' 
 tan' 0ac 
xD
D
P 0
1
Ad
m
v
m
D 0
NV
ZM
Dx 
IJRET: International Journal of Research in Engineering and Technology eISSN: 2319-1163 | pISSN: 2321-7308
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Volume: 03 Issue: 03 | Mar-2014, Available @ http://www.ijret.org 572
densities (Dx), pellet densities (Do) and porosity percentages
(P%).
Figure 2 indicates the nearly amorphous nature of the as-
prepared sample. The crystallographic phases of the as-
prepared and calcined samples have been identified (reported
in [2]) as : Amorphous γ-Fe2O3 (As-prepared), crystalline ε-
Fe2O3 (Calcined at 400o
C), crystalline (ε+β ) - Fe2O3
(Calcined at 500o
C), Crystalline (β+α) - Fe2O3 (Calcined at
600o
C) and crystalline α-Fe2O3 (Calcined at 700o
C). The
TEM images indicate that the nanoparticles are agglomerative
and spherical in shape. The morphology is found to be
homogeneous (see Figure 3) and the particle size increases
with the increase of calcination temperature (see Table 1).
The dielectric parameters, viz. ' , '' , tan δ and ζac are
shown in Figures 4-7. Table 2 contains the observed ' , ''
,tan δ and ζac values at 40o
C temperature and 1 kHz frequency
and the estimated aB values. Calcination dependences of ' ,
'' , tan δ and ζac are illustrated in Figures 8 and 9. The ' ,
'' ,tan δ values increase with the increase in temperature and
decrease with the increase in frequency. This nature of
variation is in agreement with that reported earlier for iron
oxide thin film [4] and for other oxide dielectric films [15].
Also, this is considered to be a normal behavior. In addition,
it is observed that the as-prepared and two calcined (at lower
temperatures, viz. 400 and 500o
C) samples (structurally - and
- based phases) exhibit very high temperature dependence of
' , '' and ζac (see Figure 8). The temperature dependences
of ' , '' and ζac are less in the case of - and -based phases.
The dielectric behavior of nanostructured materials, as per the
theory, is primarily due to different types of polarizations
present in the material [16]. The dielectric constant is
attributed to four types of polarizations [17] such as electronic,
ionic, dipolar and space charge polarizations. All these four
types of polarizations contribute at lower frequencies and
hence the ' and '' values are usually higher. Variation of '
and '' with temperature is strong in the case of space charge
and dipolar polarizations [17,18].
The nanoparticles possess enormous number of interfaces, and
the large number of defects present at these interfaces can
cause a charge distribution. When an electric field is applied
these space charges move and get trapped but these defects
result in the formation of dipole moments. Interfaces in
nanocrystals possess many oxygen ion vacancies [2] which are
equivalent to positive charges giving dipole moments. When
exposed to an electric field these dipoles rotate giving a
resultant dipole moment in the direction of the applied field
[19]. The space charge and dipolar polarizations occur upto
frequencies of around 1 kHz only. Thus, the higher dielectric
constant values observed at lower frequencies can be
attributed mainly to the space charge and dipolar polarizations
[20]. As the temperature increases more and more dipoles will
be oriented resulting in an increase in the dipole moment value
[21]. The increase of dielectric constant value with the
increase of temperature observed in the present study can be
explained as due to the above reason. Ionic polarization is
expected to exist up to a frequency of 100 kHz. Beyond 100
kHz frequency, only electronic polarization can exist. The
decrease of dielectric constant value with the increase of
frequency observed in the present study can be explained as
due to this.
The ' values observed at 40o
C temperature and 1kHz
frequency are significantly less than the standard dielectric
constant value (14.2) for iron oxide and that observed for thin
film (12.5) [4]. This indicates that the polarization mechanism
in the nanophases considered is mainly due to the space
charge polarization and consequently indicates the occurrence
of nanoconfined states which may substantially contribute to
the electrical properties. In nanophases, the excitonic size
becomes comparable or even larger than the particle which
results in splitting of the energy bands into discrete
quantization levels. The low D/aB ratios indicate a strong
quantum confinement effect [11].
The ζac values observed in the present study for all the five
samples are very small (i.e. the resistances are very large). α-
Fe2O3, generally, has a conductivity of 10-1
- 10-4
mho/m and
it increases for samples doped with other metal ions [22-24].
Leygraf et al [25] have reported a conductivity of 1-10 mho/m
for a Mg-doped iron oxide cathode. The electrical
conductivity at room temperature for iron oxide thin film is
found to be in the order of 10-2
mho/m [4,26]. Hasegawa et al
[8] have observed at room temperature a conductivity of ~ 1
mho/m for the  -Fe2O3 epitaxial films. The ζac values
observed in the present study are comparable to the DC
conductivity of 10-6
mho/m observed [27] at room temperature
for nanocrystalline -Fe2O3 powder with average particle size
35 nm. The low ζac values observed for the nanoparticles
(with low particle sizes) indicate that the charge transport
process is mainly due to the grain boundary scattering [28].
The electrical conductivity of nanoparticles is lower than that
of both conventional coarse grained polycrystalline material
and alloys. In composites, the magnitude of electrical
conductivity can be changed by altering the size of the
electrically conducting component. It appears to be that the
particle size also plays a crucial role in the AC conductivity.
It is generally accepted that smaller the particle sizes higher
the lattice defects. Some reports suggest that lattice defects
form acceptor- or donor-like levels in the forbidden energy
gap and act as trapping centres for charge carriers which affect
the electrical behavior [29]. The ζac value, in the present
study, increases with the increase in temperature but does not
vary systematically with frequency especially at higher
temperatures. This may be due to the randomness in the grain
IJRET: International Journal of Research in Engineering and Technology eISSN: 2319-1163 | pISSN: 2321-7308
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Volume: 03 Issue: 03 | Mar-2014, Available @ http://www.ijret.org 573
boundary scattering and trapping of charge carriers especially
at higher temperatures.
The electrical charges migrate under the influence of the
applied electrical field that contributes to the electrical
response of the system. The conductivity is an increasing
function of frequency in the case of conduction of hopping
and is a decreasing function of frequency in the case of band
conduction (drift of electric charge carriers). The total
conductivity (depending on the absolute temperature, T) can
be considered as the summation of both the band and hopping
parts represented by the relation:
tot =  (T) +  (, T) (8)
The first term is due to the band conduction and frequency
independent that can be considered as the DC conductivity
[30-32]. The second term is due to the hopping process and is
frequency dependent that can be considered as the AC
conductivity
The AC conductivity is expected to obey the empirical
formula of the frequency dependence given by the AC power
Law [32]:
(, T) = ac = Bn
(9)
Here, B and n are constants which depend on the both
temperature and compositions; n is dimension less virus B has
the electrical conductivity units (mho/m). The logarithmic
representation of equation (9) can be written as;
lnac = lnB+ n(ln) (10)
The values of n and B can be determined by plotting lnac
against ln.
In the presence study, the ac values were calculated using
relation (3) depending on dielectric measurement. Figure (8)
shows the ac versus ln drawn using the calculated ac
values. Equation (9) shows increasing AC conductivity with
the increasing frequency. However, this behavior is not seen at
high temperatures (see Figures 7 and 10) . This indicates that
the normal semiconducting behavior is exhibited at low
temperatures for the samples considered in the present study.
It is understood that the value of n ranges between 0 and 1.
When n=0, the electrical conduction is frequency independent
or DC conduction, but for n  1, the conduction is frequency
dependent or AC conduction [30]. The n and B values were
determined by best fitting the lnac versus ln lines using the
least squares principles. n value ranges from 0.13 to 0.67
which suggests that the conduction phenomenon in the studied
samples is AC conduction due to hopping of charges. Fig 11
shows the temperature dependence of B values. As B is the
conductivity value when the frequency of the applied field is
zero, this may be treated as the DC conductivity, dc.
It is found that the temperature dependence of dc is higher for
the As-prepared, calcined at 400o
C and calcined at 500o
C
samples as in the case of AC conductivity. The dc values are
significantly less than ac values as expected.
The cole-cole plots (see Figure 12) illustrate the non-ideal
behavior (i.e. departure from a single arc centred on the real
axis of Z, Z'-axis). The non-ideal behavior exhibited by the
impedance spectra can be explained as due to the presence of a
high degree of defects [33] such as oxygen vacancies [2]
present in the grain boundaries.
The ' values at 1 kHz frequency and 130o
C temperature are
4199, 2939 and 4809 respectively for the as-prepared and
calcined at 400o
C and 500o
C samples. This very high
temperature dependence of ' indicates that these
nanoparticles can be expected to be useful for high
temperature capacitor applications.
4. CONCLUSIONS
Fe2O3 nanoparticles have been prepared with spherical shape
and amorphous nature by a simple solvothermal method. The
as-prepared and calcined (at 400, 500 600 and 700o
C) samples
have been structurally and electrically characterized by TEM
analysis and dielectric measurements. TEM images indicate
the spherical shape. Results of dielectric measurements
indicate a strong quantum confinement effect. The non-ideal
behavior exhibited by the impedance spectra could be
explained as due to the oxygen vacancies present in the grain
boundaries. The increase of calcinations temperature does not
influence the electrical properties in a systematic way as the
properties are crystal structure dependent. The very high
temperature dependence of r observed for the as-prepared and
calcined at 400 and 500o
C samples indicate that they can be
expected to be useful for high temperature capacitor
applications.
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Volume: 03 Issue: 03 | Mar-2014, Available @ http://www.ijret.org 574
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FIGURES
Fig 1: Photograph of samples with pellets : (a)  As-prepared, (b)  Calcined at 400o
C, (c)  Calcined at 500o
C, (d)  Calcined at
600o
C and (e)  Calcined at 700o
C
IJRET: International Journal of Research in Engineering and Technology eISSN: 2319-1163 | pISSN: 2321-7308
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Volume: 03 Issue: 03 | Mar-2014, Available @ http://www.ijret.org 575
Fig 2: PXRD pattern of the as-prepared sample
Fig 3: TEM images : (a)  As-prepared, (b)  Calcined at 400o
C, (c)  Calcined at 500o
C, (d)  Calcined at 600o
C and (e) 
Calcined at 700o
C
IJRET: International Journal of Research in Engineering and Technology eISSN: 2319-1163 | pISSN: 2321-7308
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Volume: 03 Issue: 03 | Mar-2014, Available @ http://www.ijret.org 576
Fig 4: The real parts of dielectric constants (ε’) : (a)  As-prepared, (b)  Calcined at 400o
C, (c)  Calcined at 500o
C, (d) 
Calcined at 600o
C and (e)  Calcined at 700o
C [Unseen plots are shown in insets]
Fig 5: The imaginary parts of dielectric constants (ε’’) : (a)  As-prepared, (b)  Calcined at 400o
C, (c)  Calcined at 500o
C, (d)
 Calcined at 600o
C and (e)  Calcined at 700o
C [Unseen plots are shown in insets]
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Fig 6: The dielectric loss factors (tan δ) : (a)  As-prepared, (b)  Calcined at 400o
C, (c)  Calcined at 500o
C, (d)  Calcined at
600o
C and (e)  Calcined at 700o
C
Fig 7: The AC electrical conductivities (x 10-5
mho m-1
) (ζac) : (a)  As-prepared, (b)  Calcined at 400o
C, (c)  Calcined at
500o
C, (d)  Calcined at 600o
C and (e)  Calcined at 700o
C [Unseen plots are shown in insets]
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Fig 8: Calcination dependence of of ε’ (a), ε’’ (b), tan δ (c), and ζac (d) for 1 KHz frequency at various temperatures [Unseen plots
are shown in insets]
Fig 9: Calcination dependence of ε’ (a), ε’’ (b), tan δ (c), and ζac (d) at 40o
C temperature for various frequencies
IJRET: International Journal of Research in Engineering and Technology eISSN: 2319-1163 | pISSN: 2321-7308
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Volume: 03 Issue: 03 | Mar-2014, Available @ http://www.ijret.org 579
Fig 10: The ln ζac vs ln ω plots
Fig 11: The estimated DC electrical conductivties ( x 10-7
mho m-1
) (ζdc = B)
IJRET: International Journal of Research in Engineering and Technology eISSN: 2319-1163 | pISSN: 2321-7308
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Volume: 03 Issue: 03 | Mar-2014, Available @ http://www.ijret.org 580
Fig 12: The cole-cole plots : (a)  As-prepared, (b)  Calcined at 400o
C, (c)  Calcined at 500o
C, (d)  Calcined at 600o
C and (e)
 Calcined at 700o
C [Unseen plots are shown in insets]
Table 1: Grain sizes (D) , bulk densities (Dx) and densities (Do)and porosities of pellets
Fe2O3 sample Identified
nanophase
D (nm) Dx
(g/cc)
Do
(g/cc)
Porosity
(%)
As-prepared γ 19 4.890 1.783 63.50
Calcined at 400o
C ε 24 5.022 1.649 67.16
Calcined at 500o
C ε + β 27 5.071 1.684 66.78
Calcined at 600o
C β + α 29 5.120 1.833 64.19
Calcined at 700o
C α 33 5.270 2.328 55.82
IJRET: International Journal of Research in Engineering and Technology eISSN: 2319-1163 | pISSN: 2321-7308
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Volume: 03 Issue: 03 | Mar-2014, Available @ http://www.ijret.org 581
Table 2: ε', ε'', tan δ, and ζac values for 1 kHz frequency, and ζdc values at 40o
C h and estimated aB , and D/aB values
Fe2O3 sample Identified
nanophase
ε' ε'' tan δ ζac
( x 10-5
mho/m)
ζdc
( x 10-7
mho/m)
aB
(nm)
D/aB
As-prepared γ 6.919 4.869 0.704 0.027 0.020 41.8 0.307
Calcined at 400o
C ε 9.214 13.483 1.463 0.075 0.225 54.8 0.438
Calcined at 500o
C ε + β 9.292 12.271 1.321 0.068 0.319 55.3 0.488
Calcined at 600o
C β + α 9.456 8.350 0.883 0.077 0.179 56.3 0.515
Calcined at 700o
C α 4.536 4.242 0.935 0.034 0.096 27.0 1.222

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Effect of calcination on the electrical properties and quantum confinement of fe2 o3 nanoparticles

  • 1. IJRET: International Journal of Research in Engineering and Technology eISSN: 2319-1163 | pISSN: 2321-7308 __________________________________________________________________________________________ Volume: 03 Issue: 03 | Mar-2014, Available @ http://www.ijret.org 570 EFFECT OF CALCINATION ON THE ELECTRICAL PROPERTIES AND QUANTUM CONFINEMENT OF Fe2O3 NANOPARTICLES S. I. Srikrishna Ramya1 , C. K. Mahadevan2 1 Physics Research Centre, S. T. Hindu College, M.S.University, Nagercoil - 629 002, Tamilnadu, India 2 Physics Research Centre, S. T. Hindu College, M.S.University, Nagercoil - 629 002, Tamilnadu, India Abstract Fe2O3 nanoparticles have been prepared by a simple solvothermal method using a domestic microwave oven. X-ray powder diffraction measurement indicates the amorphous nature of the as-prepared sample. Calcined samples were obtained by annealing the as-prepared sample at different temperatures, viz. 400, 500, 600 and 700o C. Transmission electron microscopic images indicate that all the five samples are spherical in shape. AC electrical measurements were carried out on pelletized samples by the parallel plate capacitor method at various temperatures ranging from 40-130o C and frequencies ranging from 100 Hz -1 MHz. Results indicate low AC electrical conductivities and consequently show the occurrence of nano confined states. The exciton Bohr radii obtained from the dielectric constant values at 40o C temperature and 1 kHz frequency are 41.8, 54.8, 55.3, 56.3 and 27.0 respectively for the as- prepared sample and samples calcined at 400, 500, 600 and 700o C which indicate a strong quantum confinement effect. The impedance spectra observed exhibit non-ideal behavior. Keywords: Semiconductors, Magnetic materials, Nanoparticles, Electrical properties ----------------------------------------------------------------------***-------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. INTRODUCTION FeO, Fe2O3 and Fe3O4 are the three main types of iron oxide nanoparticles. They are considered to be important materials due to their biocompatibility, catalytic activity, non-toxicity, low-cost and environmentally friendly nature. In applications like solar energy transformation, electronics, electrochemistry, manufacture of magnetic storage media, sorption and purification processes and catalysis, amorphous ferric oxide (Fe2O3) plays a key role especially because of its superior catalytic activity, superparamagnetic behavior and the large specific surface area of the nanoparticles [1]. The ferric oxide has four crystallographic phases, viz. -Fe2O3 (hematite), -Fe2O3, -Fe2O3 (maghemite) and -Fe2O3 [2]. Recently, we have reported [2] the preparation by a simple route and chemical, structural, optical and magnetic characterization of the four nanophases of Fe2O3, viz. - in the amorphous condition (as-prepared) and - , - (slightly mixed with - ), and - in the crystalline state. As these nanostructured materials are also electrically important, it becomes necessary to investigate their electrical properties. The nanoparticles often exhibit unusual electric behaviors different from that of their bulk counterparts owing to finite size effects. The interest in understanding the electrical properties of transition metal oxides is being renewed because of their potential use in the development of novel electronic devices. It has been discovered that nanoscaling of transition metal oxides can have a considerable impact on their chemical behavior, and that they can exhibit distinctive properties including high dielectric constants, efficient charge separation and chemical surface reactivity [3]. The dielectric properties of a number of oxides in their films form have been investigated for electrical applications [4-6]. Bonaedy et al [7] have investigated the magneto-dielectric property of polycrystalline -Fe2O3. Hasegawa et al [8] have investigated the electrical and magnetic properties of -Fe2O3 (001) epitaxial films. Recently, Naresh and Bhowmic [9] have observed that both magnetic softness and electrical conductivity increase with the decrease of grain size in the case of -Fe1.4Ti0.6O3. It is known that quantum confinement effects arise when the size of the particles fall below the exciton bohr radius of the material [10]. Also, when the particle (grain) size is smaller than the electron mean free path, grain boundary scattering dominates which results in dramatic changes in electrical conductivity and polarizability, etc. [11]. The electrical property and charge confinement effect of quantum dots (QDs) can be accounted by the dielectric constant. Although several reports are available on magnetic and other properties of Fe2O3 nanoparticles, reports on electrical properties are limited. Also, effect of calcinations on the electrical properties has not been reported. In the present article, we report on the AC electrical measurements carried out on Fe2O3 nanoparticles (prepared by a simple solvothermal method) in the frequency range 100 Hz-1 MHz and in the temperature range 40-130o C with emphasis on the dependence of calcination temperature.
  • 2. IJRET: International Journal of Research in Engineering and Technology eISSN: 2319-1163 | pISSN: 2321-7308 __________________________________________________________________________________________ Volume: 03 Issue: 03 | Mar-2014, Available @ http://www.ijret.org 571 2. MATERIALS AND METHODS All the chemical reagents used are of Analytical Reagent (AR) grade and were used without further purification. The Fe2O3 nanoparticles were prepared by the simple solvothermal method using a domestic microwave oven reported previously by us [2]. Ferric chloride and urea were used as the precursors and ethylene glycol as the solvent. X-ray powder diffraction (PXRD) measurements were carried out using an automated diffractometer (XPERT PRO PANalytical) with CuK radiation (=1.54056Ǻ) to understand the crystallinity of the as-prepared sample. The as- prepared sample was calcined at different temperatures, viz. 400, 500, 600 and 700o C for 1h in each case in air and then brought to room temperature naturally. Morphology and microstructure were recorded by using a PHILIPS Technai-10 instrument for the as-prepared and three calcined (at 400, 500 and 600o C) samples and a HITACHI H-800 TEM instrument for the sample calcined at 700o C. The dielectric measurements (i.e. capacitance, Cp and dielectric loss factor, tan δ) were made to an accuracy of + 1% at nine different frequencies, viz. 100 Hz, 500 Hz, 1 kHz, 5 kHz, 10 kHz, 50 kHz, 100 kHz, 500 kHz and 1 MHz, and in each case, at four different temperatures, viz.40, 70, 100 and 130o C by the parallel plate capacitor method for the palletized samples (hydraulically pressed with a pressure of 4 tons) using an LCR meter (Agilent 4284 A) in a way similar to that adopted by Mahadevan and his co-workers [11, 12]. The dielectric parameters, viz. dielectric constant (both real and imaginary parts, viz. ' and '' ) and AC electrical conductivity (ζac) were determined using the measured Cp and tan δ values. The real and imaginary parts of the dielectric constant were calculated using the following relations: (1) and (2) Where o is the permittivity of free space and is equal to 8.854 x10-12 F/m, d is the thickness of the pellet and A is the area of cross-section of the pellet. The AC conductivity of the sample was calculated using the relation: (3) where ω is the angular frequency (ω = 2πf where f is the frequency of the applied AC field). The impedance measurements (i.e. impedance, Z and phase angle) were carried out on the pellets to an accuracy of +1% with Agilent 4284A LCR meter in the frequency range 100 Hz -1 MHz at four different temperatures, viz. 40, 70, 100 and 130o C in a way similar to that adopted by Saravanan and Mahadevan [13]. The cole-cole plots were drawn by finding the real Z (Z') and imaginary Z (Z") values from the measured Z and phase angle values. The exciton bohr radius (aB in nm) was estimated by using the relation [11]: (4) Where r is the dielectric constant (i.e. ' here) , me * and mh * are the effective masses of electron and hole respectively, e is the electronic charge and h is the Planck’s constant. We have used the ' value observed at 40o C temperature and 1 kHz frequency and a value of 12.5/mo (where mo is the electron rest mass) [14] for the bracketed item in relation (4). The porosity of the pellet was calculated using the relation: (5) Where D0 is the apparent density of the pellet determined by assuming the cylindrical shape of the pellet and using the relation: (6) Where m and v are mass and volume respectively of the pellet The bulk density (Dx) was calculated using the relation: (7) Where Z is the number of molecules per unit cell, M is the molecular weight, N is the Avogadro’s number and V is the volume of the unit cell. 3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Figure 1 shows the photograph of the as-prepared and calcined samples along with the corresponding pallets. The PXRD pattern of the as-prepared sample is shown in Figure 2. Figure 3 shows the transmission electron microscopic (TEM) images observed. Table 1 contains the particle (grain) sizes (D) estimated through TEM analysis (reported in [2]), the bulk          **22 2 11 4 he r B mme h a   A dCp 0 '     tan'''   tan' 0ac  xD D P 0 1 Ad m v m D 0 NV ZM Dx 
  • 3. IJRET: International Journal of Research in Engineering and Technology eISSN: 2319-1163 | pISSN: 2321-7308 __________________________________________________________________________________________ Volume: 03 Issue: 03 | Mar-2014, Available @ http://www.ijret.org 572 densities (Dx), pellet densities (Do) and porosity percentages (P%). Figure 2 indicates the nearly amorphous nature of the as- prepared sample. The crystallographic phases of the as- prepared and calcined samples have been identified (reported in [2]) as : Amorphous γ-Fe2O3 (As-prepared), crystalline ε- Fe2O3 (Calcined at 400o C), crystalline (ε+β ) - Fe2O3 (Calcined at 500o C), Crystalline (β+α) - Fe2O3 (Calcined at 600o C) and crystalline α-Fe2O3 (Calcined at 700o C). The TEM images indicate that the nanoparticles are agglomerative and spherical in shape. The morphology is found to be homogeneous (see Figure 3) and the particle size increases with the increase of calcination temperature (see Table 1). The dielectric parameters, viz. ' , '' , tan δ and ζac are shown in Figures 4-7. Table 2 contains the observed ' , '' ,tan δ and ζac values at 40o C temperature and 1 kHz frequency and the estimated aB values. Calcination dependences of ' , '' , tan δ and ζac are illustrated in Figures 8 and 9. The ' , '' ,tan δ values increase with the increase in temperature and decrease with the increase in frequency. This nature of variation is in agreement with that reported earlier for iron oxide thin film [4] and for other oxide dielectric films [15]. Also, this is considered to be a normal behavior. In addition, it is observed that the as-prepared and two calcined (at lower temperatures, viz. 400 and 500o C) samples (structurally - and - based phases) exhibit very high temperature dependence of ' , '' and ζac (see Figure 8). The temperature dependences of ' , '' and ζac are less in the case of - and -based phases. The dielectric behavior of nanostructured materials, as per the theory, is primarily due to different types of polarizations present in the material [16]. The dielectric constant is attributed to four types of polarizations [17] such as electronic, ionic, dipolar and space charge polarizations. All these four types of polarizations contribute at lower frequencies and hence the ' and '' values are usually higher. Variation of ' and '' with temperature is strong in the case of space charge and dipolar polarizations [17,18]. The nanoparticles possess enormous number of interfaces, and the large number of defects present at these interfaces can cause a charge distribution. When an electric field is applied these space charges move and get trapped but these defects result in the formation of dipole moments. Interfaces in nanocrystals possess many oxygen ion vacancies [2] which are equivalent to positive charges giving dipole moments. When exposed to an electric field these dipoles rotate giving a resultant dipole moment in the direction of the applied field [19]. The space charge and dipolar polarizations occur upto frequencies of around 1 kHz only. Thus, the higher dielectric constant values observed at lower frequencies can be attributed mainly to the space charge and dipolar polarizations [20]. As the temperature increases more and more dipoles will be oriented resulting in an increase in the dipole moment value [21]. The increase of dielectric constant value with the increase of temperature observed in the present study can be explained as due to the above reason. Ionic polarization is expected to exist up to a frequency of 100 kHz. Beyond 100 kHz frequency, only electronic polarization can exist. The decrease of dielectric constant value with the increase of frequency observed in the present study can be explained as due to this. The ' values observed at 40o C temperature and 1kHz frequency are significantly less than the standard dielectric constant value (14.2) for iron oxide and that observed for thin film (12.5) [4]. This indicates that the polarization mechanism in the nanophases considered is mainly due to the space charge polarization and consequently indicates the occurrence of nanoconfined states which may substantially contribute to the electrical properties. In nanophases, the excitonic size becomes comparable or even larger than the particle which results in splitting of the energy bands into discrete quantization levels. The low D/aB ratios indicate a strong quantum confinement effect [11]. The ζac values observed in the present study for all the five samples are very small (i.e. the resistances are very large). α- Fe2O3, generally, has a conductivity of 10-1 - 10-4 mho/m and it increases for samples doped with other metal ions [22-24]. Leygraf et al [25] have reported a conductivity of 1-10 mho/m for a Mg-doped iron oxide cathode. The electrical conductivity at room temperature for iron oxide thin film is found to be in the order of 10-2 mho/m [4,26]. Hasegawa et al [8] have observed at room temperature a conductivity of ~ 1 mho/m for the  -Fe2O3 epitaxial films. The ζac values observed in the present study are comparable to the DC conductivity of 10-6 mho/m observed [27] at room temperature for nanocrystalline -Fe2O3 powder with average particle size 35 nm. The low ζac values observed for the nanoparticles (with low particle sizes) indicate that the charge transport process is mainly due to the grain boundary scattering [28]. The electrical conductivity of nanoparticles is lower than that of both conventional coarse grained polycrystalline material and alloys. In composites, the magnitude of electrical conductivity can be changed by altering the size of the electrically conducting component. It appears to be that the particle size also plays a crucial role in the AC conductivity. It is generally accepted that smaller the particle sizes higher the lattice defects. Some reports suggest that lattice defects form acceptor- or donor-like levels in the forbidden energy gap and act as trapping centres for charge carriers which affect the electrical behavior [29]. The ζac value, in the present study, increases with the increase in temperature but does not vary systematically with frequency especially at higher temperatures. This may be due to the randomness in the grain
  • 4. IJRET: International Journal of Research in Engineering and Technology eISSN: 2319-1163 | pISSN: 2321-7308 __________________________________________________________________________________________ Volume: 03 Issue: 03 | Mar-2014, Available @ http://www.ijret.org 573 boundary scattering and trapping of charge carriers especially at higher temperatures. The electrical charges migrate under the influence of the applied electrical field that contributes to the electrical response of the system. The conductivity is an increasing function of frequency in the case of conduction of hopping and is a decreasing function of frequency in the case of band conduction (drift of electric charge carriers). The total conductivity (depending on the absolute temperature, T) can be considered as the summation of both the band and hopping parts represented by the relation: tot =  (T) +  (, T) (8) The first term is due to the band conduction and frequency independent that can be considered as the DC conductivity [30-32]. The second term is due to the hopping process and is frequency dependent that can be considered as the AC conductivity The AC conductivity is expected to obey the empirical formula of the frequency dependence given by the AC power Law [32]: (, T) = ac = Bn (9) Here, B and n are constants which depend on the both temperature and compositions; n is dimension less virus B has the electrical conductivity units (mho/m). The logarithmic representation of equation (9) can be written as; lnac = lnB+ n(ln) (10) The values of n and B can be determined by plotting lnac against ln. In the presence study, the ac values were calculated using relation (3) depending on dielectric measurement. Figure (8) shows the ac versus ln drawn using the calculated ac values. Equation (9) shows increasing AC conductivity with the increasing frequency. However, this behavior is not seen at high temperatures (see Figures 7 and 10) . This indicates that the normal semiconducting behavior is exhibited at low temperatures for the samples considered in the present study. It is understood that the value of n ranges between 0 and 1. When n=0, the electrical conduction is frequency independent or DC conduction, but for n  1, the conduction is frequency dependent or AC conduction [30]. The n and B values were determined by best fitting the lnac versus ln lines using the least squares principles. n value ranges from 0.13 to 0.67 which suggests that the conduction phenomenon in the studied samples is AC conduction due to hopping of charges. Fig 11 shows the temperature dependence of B values. As B is the conductivity value when the frequency of the applied field is zero, this may be treated as the DC conductivity, dc. It is found that the temperature dependence of dc is higher for the As-prepared, calcined at 400o C and calcined at 500o C samples as in the case of AC conductivity. The dc values are significantly less than ac values as expected. The cole-cole plots (see Figure 12) illustrate the non-ideal behavior (i.e. departure from a single arc centred on the real axis of Z, Z'-axis). The non-ideal behavior exhibited by the impedance spectra can be explained as due to the presence of a high degree of defects [33] such as oxygen vacancies [2] present in the grain boundaries. The ' values at 1 kHz frequency and 130o C temperature are 4199, 2939 and 4809 respectively for the as-prepared and calcined at 400o C and 500o C samples. This very high temperature dependence of ' indicates that these nanoparticles can be expected to be useful for high temperature capacitor applications. 4. CONCLUSIONS Fe2O3 nanoparticles have been prepared with spherical shape and amorphous nature by a simple solvothermal method. The as-prepared and calcined (at 400, 500 600 and 700o C) samples have been structurally and electrically characterized by TEM analysis and dielectric measurements. TEM images indicate the spherical shape. Results of dielectric measurements indicate a strong quantum confinement effect. The non-ideal behavior exhibited by the impedance spectra could be explained as due to the oxygen vacancies present in the grain boundaries. The increase of calcinations temperature does not influence the electrical properties in a systematic way as the properties are crystal structure dependent. The very high temperature dependence of r observed for the as-prepared and calcined at 400 and 500o C samples indicate that they can be expected to be useful for high temperature capacitor applications. REFERENCES [1] L. Machla, R. Zboril, A. Gedanken, J. Phys. Chem B. 111 (2007) 4003-4018. [2] S. I. Srikrishna Ramya, C. K. Mahadevan, Mater. Lett. 89 (2012) 111-114. [3] N. Iordanova, M. Dupuis, K. M. Rosso, J. Chem. Phys. 122 (2005) 144305-144314. [4] S. S. Kulkarni, C. D. Lokhand, Mater. Chem. Phys. 82 (2003) 151-156. [5] J. A. Glasscock, P. R. F. Barnes, I. C. Plumb, A. Bendavid, P. J. Martin, Thin Solid Films. 516 (2008) 1716-1724. [6] S. S. Shinde, R. A. Bansode, C. H. Bhosale, K. Y. Rajpure, J. Semiconductors. 32 (2011) 013001-013008.
  • 5. IJRET: International Journal of Research in Engineering and Technology eISSN: 2319-1163 | pISSN: 2321-7308 __________________________________________________________________________________________ Volume: 03 Issue: 03 | Mar-2014, Available @ http://www.ijret.org 574 [7] T. Bonaedy, Y. S. Koo, K. D. Sung, J. H. Jung, Appl. Phys. Lett. 91 (2007) 132901-132903. [8] M. Hasegawa, H. Yanagihara, Y. Toyoda, E. Kita, L. Ranno. J. Magn. Magn. Mater. 310 (2007) 2283-2285. [9] N. Naresh, R. N. Bhowmik, J. Phys. Chem. Solids. 73 (2012) 330-337. [10] Y. Wang, N. Herron, J. Phys. Chem. 95 (1991) 525- 532. [11] R. S. S. Saravanan, D. Pukazhselvan, C. K. Mahadevan, J. Alloys. Compd. 509 (2011) 4065-4072. [12] C. K. Mahadevan, K. Jayakumari, Physica B: Condens. Mater. 403 (2008) 3990-3996. [13] R. S. S. Saravanan, C. K. Mahadevan, J. Alloys. Compd. 541 (2012) 115-124. [14] M. B. Sahana, C. Sudakar, G. Setzler, A. Dixit, A. J. Thakur, G. Lawes, R. Naik, V. M. Naik, P. P. Vaishnava, Appl. Phys. Lett. 93 (2008) 2319091- 2319093. [15] A. Goswami, A. P. Goswami, Indian P. Appl. Phys. 12 (1974) 26-31. [16] M. Chi-Mel, Z. Lide, W. Guozhong, Nanostrut. Mater. 6 (1995) 823-826. [17] L. L. Hench, J. K. West, Principles of Electronic Ceramics. JohnWiley and Sons, New York, 1990. [18] A. Verma, O. P. Thakur, C. Prakash, T. C. Goel, R. G. Mendiratta, Mater. Sci. Eng. B. 116 (2005) 1-6. [19] J. Maier, S. Prill, B. Reichert, Solid State Ionics, 28 (1988) 1465-1469. [20] B. Tareev, Physics of Dielectric materials. Mir Publishers, Moscow, 1979. [21] T. Kar, R. N. Choudhary, S. Sharma, K. S. Singh, Ind. J. Phy. 73A (1999) 453. [22] M. Anderman, J. H. Kennedy, Introduction to Semiconductor Electrodes (Eds. H.O.Finklear), Elsevier; Newyork: 1998, pp.147. [23] C. Cai, D. Jiang, R. Tong, S. Jin, J. Zhang, Electrochim. Acta. 36 (1991) 1585-1590. [24] K. Gurunathan, P. Maruthamuthu, Int. J. Hydrogen Energy 20 (1995) 287-295. [25] C. Leygraf, M. Hendewerk, G. Somorjai, J. Solid State Chem. 48 (1983) 357-367. [26] S. H. Pawar, P. S. Patil, R. D. Madhale, C. D. Lokhande, Indian J. Pure Appl. Phys. 27 (1989) 227- 230. [27] P. P. Sarangi, S. R. Vadera, M. K. Patra, C. Prakash, N. N. Ghosh, J. Am. Ceram. Soc. 92 (2009) 2425-2428. [28] R. S. S. Saravanan, D. Pukazhselvan, C. K. Mahadevan, J. Alloys. Compd. 517 (2012) 139-148. [29] C. Karunakaran, S. Sakthi Raadha, P. Gomathisankar, J. Alloys. Compd. 549 (2013) 269-275. [30] M. A. El Hiti, J. Phys. D : Appl. Phys. 29 (1996) 501- 505. [31] A. M. Abo El Ata, M. K. El Nimra, S. M. Attia, D. El Kony, A. H. Al-Hammadi, J Magn Magn Mater 297 (2006) 33-43. [32] M. Abdullah Dar, K. M. Batoo, V. Verma, W. A. Siddiqui, R. K. Kotnala, J. Alloys. Compds. 493 (2010) 553-560. [33] L. Brus, J. Phys. Chem. 90 (1986) 2555-2560. FIGURES Fig 1: Photograph of samples with pellets : (a)  As-prepared, (b)  Calcined at 400o C, (c)  Calcined at 500o C, (d)  Calcined at 600o C and (e)  Calcined at 700o C
  • 6. IJRET: International Journal of Research in Engineering and Technology eISSN: 2319-1163 | pISSN: 2321-7308 __________________________________________________________________________________________ Volume: 03 Issue: 03 | Mar-2014, Available @ http://www.ijret.org 575 Fig 2: PXRD pattern of the as-prepared sample Fig 3: TEM images : (a)  As-prepared, (b)  Calcined at 400o C, (c)  Calcined at 500o C, (d)  Calcined at 600o C and (e)  Calcined at 700o C
  • 7. IJRET: International Journal of Research in Engineering and Technology eISSN: 2319-1163 | pISSN: 2321-7308 __________________________________________________________________________________________ Volume: 03 Issue: 03 | Mar-2014, Available @ http://www.ijret.org 576 Fig 4: The real parts of dielectric constants (ε’) : (a)  As-prepared, (b)  Calcined at 400o C, (c)  Calcined at 500o C, (d)  Calcined at 600o C and (e)  Calcined at 700o C [Unseen plots are shown in insets] Fig 5: The imaginary parts of dielectric constants (ε’’) : (a)  As-prepared, (b)  Calcined at 400o C, (c)  Calcined at 500o C, (d)  Calcined at 600o C and (e)  Calcined at 700o C [Unseen plots are shown in insets]
  • 8. IJRET: International Journal of Research in Engineering and Technology eISSN: 2319-1163 | pISSN: 2321-7308 __________________________________________________________________________________________ Volume: 03 Issue: 03 | Mar-2014, Available @ http://www.ijret.org 577 Fig 6: The dielectric loss factors (tan δ) : (a)  As-prepared, (b)  Calcined at 400o C, (c)  Calcined at 500o C, (d)  Calcined at 600o C and (e)  Calcined at 700o C Fig 7: The AC electrical conductivities (x 10-5 mho m-1 ) (ζac) : (a)  As-prepared, (b)  Calcined at 400o C, (c)  Calcined at 500o C, (d)  Calcined at 600o C and (e)  Calcined at 700o C [Unseen plots are shown in insets]
  • 9. IJRET: International Journal of Research in Engineering and Technology eISSN: 2319-1163 | pISSN: 2321-7308 __________________________________________________________________________________________ Volume: 03 Issue: 03 | Mar-2014, Available @ http://www.ijret.org 578 Fig 8: Calcination dependence of of ε’ (a), ε’’ (b), tan δ (c), and ζac (d) for 1 KHz frequency at various temperatures [Unseen plots are shown in insets] Fig 9: Calcination dependence of ε’ (a), ε’’ (b), tan δ (c), and ζac (d) at 40o C temperature for various frequencies
  • 10. IJRET: International Journal of Research in Engineering and Technology eISSN: 2319-1163 | pISSN: 2321-7308 __________________________________________________________________________________________ Volume: 03 Issue: 03 | Mar-2014, Available @ http://www.ijret.org 579 Fig 10: The ln ζac vs ln ω plots Fig 11: The estimated DC electrical conductivties ( x 10-7 mho m-1 ) (ζdc = B)
  • 11. IJRET: International Journal of Research in Engineering and Technology eISSN: 2319-1163 | pISSN: 2321-7308 __________________________________________________________________________________________ Volume: 03 Issue: 03 | Mar-2014, Available @ http://www.ijret.org 580 Fig 12: The cole-cole plots : (a)  As-prepared, (b)  Calcined at 400o C, (c)  Calcined at 500o C, (d)  Calcined at 600o C and (e)  Calcined at 700o C [Unseen plots are shown in insets] Table 1: Grain sizes (D) , bulk densities (Dx) and densities (Do)and porosities of pellets Fe2O3 sample Identified nanophase D (nm) Dx (g/cc) Do (g/cc) Porosity (%) As-prepared γ 19 4.890 1.783 63.50 Calcined at 400o C ε 24 5.022 1.649 67.16 Calcined at 500o C ε + β 27 5.071 1.684 66.78 Calcined at 600o C β + α 29 5.120 1.833 64.19 Calcined at 700o C α 33 5.270 2.328 55.82
  • 12. IJRET: International Journal of Research in Engineering and Technology eISSN: 2319-1163 | pISSN: 2321-7308 __________________________________________________________________________________________ Volume: 03 Issue: 03 | Mar-2014, Available @ http://www.ijret.org 581 Table 2: ε', ε'', tan δ, and ζac values for 1 kHz frequency, and ζdc values at 40o C h and estimated aB , and D/aB values Fe2O3 sample Identified nanophase ε' ε'' tan δ ζac ( x 10-5 mho/m) ζdc ( x 10-7 mho/m) aB (nm) D/aB As-prepared γ 6.919 4.869 0.704 0.027 0.020 41.8 0.307 Calcined at 400o C ε 9.214 13.483 1.463 0.075 0.225 54.8 0.438 Calcined at 500o C ε + β 9.292 12.271 1.321 0.068 0.319 55.3 0.488 Calcined at 600o C β + α 9.456 8.350 0.883 0.077 0.179 56.3 0.515 Calcined at 700o C α 4.536 4.242 0.935 0.034 0.096 27.0 1.222