Establishing the correlation of negative permittivity and AC conductivity of La2−xSrxNiO4 (x = 0, 0.1, 0.3, 1.0) for microwave shielding applications

Abstract

Negative permittivity, a phenomenon observed in certain materials, has attracted considerable interest because of its significant implications in various fields of physics and engineering. Herein, from the perspective of intrinsic properties of single-phase materials, a few compositions of the La_2−xSr_xNiO₄ system (x = 0, 0.1, 0.3, 1.0) were synthesized using the solid-state reaction method. XRD studies showed that the solubility limit of Sr in the lattice of La₂NiO₄ is limited (0.3 < x < 1.0). Morphological studies have revealed that average grain size and density increase with increasing Sr content. Dielectric/electrical properties were studied across a wide frequency range (20 Hz–2 MHz) and at higher temperatures (30–600 °C). All the samples have negative dielectric constant and this is attributed to plasma oscillation. The Drude model was fitted to experimental data and parameters like plasma frequency (ω_p) and relaxation frequency (ω_τ) were determined. The low value of activation energy (<0.05 eV) for direct current (D.C.) conduction and an increasing trend in relaxation time (τ) with temperature suggest a “small-polaron hopping conduction” mechanism. Studies on complex plane impedances have shown positive reactance and increased inductance with Sr-doping. Microwave shielding analysis revealed reflection as the primary shielding mechanism. The composition with x = 0.30 having high dielectric constant and conductivity shows the best shielding capabilities. These findings highlight the ability to tune the negative dielectric properties of La₂NiO₄ through compositional adjustments, which is significant for applications such as microwave shielding and coil-less inductive materials for future devices.