Preparation and characterization silver/zirconium nickel oxide nanocomposites with negative electromagnetic parameters

Different amounts of silver (0-45 wt%) have been synthesized with Zr0.9Ni0.1Oy based on co-precipitation technique. Doping with silver metal is an interesting way to achieve the double negative (DNG) properties. The morphology and structure properties of Ag/Zr0.9Ni0.1Oy nanocomposite were studied by x-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) techniques. The XRD analysis showed that no reaction took place between Zr0.9Ni0.1Oy and silver during calcination and sintering. SEM observation showed that the silver particles presented homogenous particle distribution in the Zr0.9Ni0.1Oy matrix. The electrical and magnetic properties of the silver-doped Zr0.9Ni0.1Oy were investigated. It was found that silver doping results in both negative permittivity and negative permeability possibly due to the incorporation of Ag atoms in the percolation network. Our results suggest that the Ag/Zr0.9Ni0.1Oy, is a suitable candidate for DNG materials.