Unique dielectric features of a ceramic-semiconductor nanocomposite MgNb2O6+ 0.25Zn0.5Cd0.5S

Abstract The present communication deals with the optical/dielectric characteristics of MgNb 2 O 6 + 0.25Zn 0.5 Cd 0.5 S nanocomposite (10–30 nm) mixture. Zn 0.5 Cd 0.5 S (size ∼10 nm) was synthesized by microwave assisted solvo-thermal method. Monophase magnesium niobate (MN) nanoparticles (10–20 nm) were synthesized in a single step by mechanochemical treatment of MgO + Nb 2 O 5 under dry N 2 atmosphere. The nanocomposite, MgNb 2 O 6 + 0.25Zn 0.5 Cd 0.5 S, was prepared by mechanical admixing of MgNb 2 O 6 and Zn 0.5 Cd 0.5 S taken in 4:1 molar ratio. The photoluminescence study shows violet, yellow and orange-red emissions by the MgNb 2 O 6 + 0.25Zn 0.5 Cd 0.5 S composite. The observed dielectric constant value (e) for MgNb 2 O 6 + 0.25Zn 0.5 Cd 0.5 S is only 4.7, which is ∼5 times smaller than the e value of MgNb 2 O 6 while a dielectric loss for the composite being closer to zero ensures promising commercial applications.