AC conductivity and dielectric analysis of graphite–clay nanocomposite

A number of graphite–clay composites with varying percentages of graphite in the clay host have been prepared and their AC conductivities and dielectric behaviours have been studied in the frequency range from 42 Hz to 5 MHz. Measurements have been done for various concentrations of graphite filler to characterize their behaviour and develop composites with the desired conductivity for possible practical applications. The AC conductivity, σ(ω), increased with ω and followed a power law σ(ω) ωs with s ≤ 1, signifying conduction by hopping mechanism. The dielectric behaviour and loss tangents of the samples have been characterized by loss peaks for all of the samples, suggesting the presence of relaxation dipoles. The broad asymmetric loss peaks of the dielectric response were analyzed using the Havriliak–Negami function and associated parameters relaxation time, τ; broadening, γ; and asymmetry, β, have been obtained