ELECTRICAL RESISTIVITY AND ACTIVATION ENERGY OF COBALT ACETATE TETRAHYDRATE DOPED MULLITE

Abstract

Mullite composites have been synthesized at 400°C, 800°C, 1000°C and 1300°C via the sol-gel technique in the presence of cobalt. The electrical resistivity and activation energy of the composites have been measured and their variation with concentration of the metal ion doping has been investigated. The resistivity of doped mullite decreases rapidly from 400°C-800°C more gently from 1000°C-1300°C. The lowering of resistivity is due to the 3d orbital electrons and the concentration of cobalt ions. X-ray analysis confirms the presence of Co2+ ions in mullite, which entered the octahedral site. The Co2+ ion which substituted Al3+ ion in the octahedral site of mullite structure appeared to be efficient in reducing the resistivity. This has been confirmed due to the results of activation energy of resistivity/band gap energy, the Eg which was lowest for concentration 0.15 M. As the concentration increases, these ions lower the resistivity of mullite to a minimum.

Keywords

• Nanocomposite
• Sol-gel methods
• Scanning electron microscopy (SEM)
• X-ray diffraction (XRD)
• Electrical resistivity