Frequency Dependence of Atomic Diffusivity and Electrical Properties of Gum Arabic/Graphite Composite

Abstract

In this study, Gum Arabic (GA)/Graphite (Gr) composite material was prepared using solid state reaction method. The FTIR peaks obtained were referred to the binding of Gr with the active groups in GA, such as NH2, COOH, CHO, CNC (alkyl amine) and C=CH (aromatic monosubstitution). Atomic diffusivity of Gr in GA was calculated using simple model and was found to varied randomly. This randomness might be due to the attachment of Gr with different active groups of GA. The addition of Gr results in improvement of the conductivity of GA to a far extend as it reaches the semiconductor range. The random variation in conductivities of the samples can be attributed to the effect of high frequency range, where the effect of phonon-electron is dominant. The samples subjected to the impedance spectroscopy (IS) for second and third time were acquired different diffusivities as well as conductivities. Such variations might indicate that IS was a processing technique similar to thermal treatment since it boosted the Gr atomic diffusion.