DIELECTRIC CONSTANT OF MgAl2O4 SPINEL AND
THE OXIDE ADDITIVITY RULE


Robert D. SHANNON

E. I. Du Pont de Nemours and Co., Inc., Central Research and Development Department,
Experimental Station, Wilmington, DE 19880-0356, U.S.A.

George R. ROSSMAN

Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences,
California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125-2500, U.S.A.

 

Abstract

The dielectric constants and dielectric loss values of five natural and three synthetic spinel single crystals were determined at 1 MHz using a two-terminal method and empirically determined edge corrections. The results are:

Composition k' tand
Mg1.02Al1.98Fe0.01O4 8.355 0.0005
Mg1.00Al1. 98Fe0.02O4 8.322 0.0007
Mg1. 00Al1.99Fe0.02O4 8.203 0.0007
Mg1 01Al1.9804 8.352 0.0005
Mg0.97Al02.01Fe0.01O4 8.302 0.0005
Mg1. 00A12.00O4 8.325 0.0008
Mg1. 00A12.00O4 8.176 0.0005
Mg0 415A12.39O4 8.572 0.0011

The agreement between measured dielectric polarizabilities as determined from the Clausius-Mosotti equation and those calculated from the sum of oxide polarizabilities according to aD(mineral) = åaD(oxides) for this group of spinels ranges from + 1.1 to + 3.2%, well above the agreement value of 0.5-1.0% found for well-behaved oxides. Possible reasons for these discrepancies are discussed.


Journal of the Physics and Chemistry of Solids, Vol. 52. No. 9. pp. 1055-1059. (1991 )