Comparative study of dielectric properties of geopolymer matrices using different dielectric powders

Due to their interesting properties, geopolymers have found various applications in different domains. The evaluation of the dielectric properties of a geopolymer matrix for RF applications is innovative. In this context, this paper focuses, first, on the evaluation of the suitability of a geopolymer matrix with dielectric materials, and then on the improvement of the real permittivity value of the obtained material. For this purpose, the precursors either dielectric powder or aluminosilicate powder were first characterized. Then, the feasibility of the geopolymer matrix was investigated. Based on the feasibility test, it was shown that these kinds of materials can be successfully filled with various types of dielectric materials, such as ZrO2, BaTiO3 and Y2O3. Moreover, the optimized parameters of the synthesis process, which included a small amount of water in the formulation, were 20 °C for the synthesis temperature, 85% for the humidity level and 7 days for the setting time. The measurement of the dielectric properties evidenced, first, that the real part of the relative permittivity strongly depends on the formulation and storage process. Then, the incorporation of a high percentage of BaTiO3 (60%) induced an increase in the real part of the permittivity value and a decrease in the loss tangent. Finally, the mixing law of Maxwell-Garnet was applied to compare the theoretical and measured values of the permittivity. It was deduced that the small difference detected at low percentages whatever the dielectric materials can be explained by the preponderant effect of the geopolymer matrix compared to ZrO2 or BaTiO3, it seems that the mixing law well functioned with BaTiO3 than ZrO2. This is in accordance with the better dielectric properties for samples containing BaTiO3.