Studies on morphology, conduction mechanism and dielectric properties of Li2ZrO3 prepared using solid-state reaction

Abstract

The ceramic materials have recently found a vast variety of applications due to their outstanding structurale and photoluminisenece characteristics. However, despite the promising properties of these materials, there remains a need to explore novel performance for practical applications. For this reason, we focus is on addressing this scientific challenge by synthesizing and characterizing the Li₂ZrO₃. In the present work Li₂ZrO₃ is prepared via solid state process. X-ray diffraction reveals that the compound has a well-defined crystalline structure in the monoclinic phase having a C2/c space group. Scanning electronic microscope indicated a compact microstructure and well grown grains separated by grain boundaries. Furthermore, we also use the complex impedance spectroscopy method to report the electrical and dielectric characteristics of Li₂ZrO₃ in the 100–10⁶ Hz frequency range. Over a temperature range of 353–573 K, the conductivity measurements of the produced ceramic are examined. In addition, the Nyquist plots revealed contributions from both the grains and the grain boundaries suggesting that the material demonstrates a relaxation behaviour characteristic of the non Debye type and provide reasons supporting the semi conducting nature of this sample. In addition, dielectric analysis demonstrated significant frequency-dependent behavior, characterized by various polarization effects and relaxation phenomena. Jonscher’s power law is used to analyze alternating current and conductivity, and it is found that the fluctuation of the exponent “s” adequately describes the conduction mechanism and agrees with CBH models. The findings demonstrate that LZO holds significant potential for various technological applications, including energy storage, micoelectronic devices, highlighting the potential they hold as multifunctional materials.