Evidence for polaron conduction in nanostructured manganese ferrite

Nanoparticles of manganese ferrite were prepared by the chemical co-precipitation technique. The dielectric parameters, namely, real and imaginary dielectric permittivity (ε' and ε-prime), ac conductivity (σac) and dielectric loss tangent (tanδ), were measured in the frequency range of 100 kHz-8 MHz at different temperatures. The variations of dielectric dispersion (ε') and dielectric absorption (ε-prime) with frequency and temperature were also investigated. The variation of dielectric permittivity with frequency and temperature followed the Maxwell-Wagner model based on interfacial polarization in consonance with Koops phenomenological theory. The dielectric loss tangent and hence ε-prime exhibited a relaxation at certain frequencies and at relatively higher temperatures. The dispersion of dielectric permittivity and broadening of the dielectric absorption suggest the possibility of a distribution of relaxation time and the existence of multiple equilibrium states in manganese ferrite. The activation energy estimated from the dielectric relaxation is found to be high and is characteristic of polaron conduction in the nanosized manganese ferrite. The ac conductivity followed a power law dependence σac = Bωn typical of charge transport assisted by a hopping or tunnelling process. The observed minimum in the temperature dependence of the frequency exponent n strongly suggests that tunnelling of the large polarons is the dominant transport process