Percolation In Borosilicate Glass Matrix Composites Containing Antimony-Doped Tin Oxide Segregated Networks. Part Ii: Examination Of Electrical Behaviour Using Impedance Spectroscopy

Glass nanocomposites, fabricated using borosilicate glass microspheres and antimony tin oxide (ATO) nanoparticles, were previously reported to have formed segregated networks at the boundaries of the glass particles. This resulted in an electrically conducting composite at low volume fractions (~0.5-0.8 vol%) of ATO nanoparticles. The wide range of electrical response in these borosilicate glass composites containing networks of varying concentration of ATO was examined using impedance spectroscopy. The electrical resistance of these composites varied over a range of around 12 orders of magnitude and exhibited several different types of insulator and conductor behaviour. The formation of the ATO network was identified and tracked by SEM images and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) scans. Detailed impedance spectroscopy analysis using all of the dielectric functions (impedance, permittivity, electrical modulus, and admittance) was found to be an excellent method for detecting the development of the network and the effect that processing variables can have on its formation and the overall electrical properties of the nanocomposites.