Investigation of dielectric parameters and AC conductivity of ZnO: TiC nanocomposite powders

Abstract

In this study, pure and (wt% 10, 20, and 30) titanium carbide (TiC)-reinforced zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles were produced by sol-gel synthesis method. Sol-gel nanoparticle synthesis was carried out by dissolving the solvents in a magnetic stirrer at 90 C-degrees for 4 h. The filtration, drying, pestle, and annealing processes of the synthesized nanoparticles were carried out. The structural and morphological properties of the synthesized ZnO and TiC-added nanoparticles were investigated by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy-dispersive spectrum (EDX), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) analyses. The dielectric properties of the produced nanoparticles were also investigated. As a result of the analysis, characteristic peaks of TiC and ZnO nanoparticles were found in XRD analysis. In the XRD analysis results, increases and shifts occurred in the characteristic peaks of TiC with the increase in the amount of TiC additive. As a result of FE-SEM analysis, it was observed that TiC nanoparticles grew in the ZnO structure with the increase of TiC contribution. It has been observed that TiC doping positively affects the dielectric properties of ZnO nanoparticles and their AC conductivity values, and the studies can be extended and used in applications.