Comparative analysis of structural and electrical properties of NiFe2O4, NiMn2O4, and its composites with CNTs
摘要
Spinel ferrites of nickel ferrite (NiFeO4) and nickel manganite (NiMnO4) were synthesized using a WOW sol–gel technique, and their structural and electrical properties were examined. XRD confirmed cubic spinel structures with crystallite sizes ranging from 29 to 66 nm and lattice constants between 8.31 and 8.40 Å. The porosity values were 41–44%, and the experimental densities calculated from XRD data ranged from 2.89 to 3.15 g/cm3. The dielectric constants were determined to be 19.4 for NiFeO4, 32.1 for NiMnO4, 5.9 for NiFeO4/CNTs, and 17.7 for NiMnO4/CNTs at high frequencies up to 1 MHz, showing a significant reduction compared to their low-frequency values. Dielectric losses also decreased at higher frequencies, ranging from 1.2 to 12.7 across all compositions. With increasing frequency, the AC conductivity reached ~ 6.7 × 10−5 S/cm for NiFe2O4 and ~ 7.0 × 10−4 S/cm for NiMn2O4 at 1 MHz. DC electrical measurements revealed semiconducting behavior, with activation energies of 0.68 eV for NiFeO₄, 0.56 eV for NiFeO4/CNTs, 0.43 eV for NiMnO4, and 0.35 eV for NiMnO4/CNTs. Impedance analysis confirmed an increase in resistance for NiFeO4/CNTs and a decrease in resistance for NiMnO4/CNTs. These findings show that the addition of CNTs dramatically alters the dielectric and transport characteristics, especially at high frequencies, allowing ferrites to be precisely tailored for high-frequency electrical and energy storage applications.