Abstract
Quartz is the most common mineral in continental crust rocks. It has been used for multiple industrial purposes. Herein, we have investigated the effect of aluminum (Al) additions on the electrical/dielectric properties of the natural quartz. The natural quartz was collected and ground to form fine powders; Al has been added to and mixed with the natural powders et al. ratios of 0, 10, 20, and 30 wt.% under powerful stirrer and sonication. The obtained powders were calcined at 900 K; then, their morphological features, chemical element compositions, crystal phases, and chemical group functions were identified respectively by SEM, EDX, XRD, and FTIR. Then, the electrical and dielectric features of the fabricated natural quartz-Al composites were evaluated in the temperature and frequency ranges of 300-900 K and 5 kHz-8 MHz, respectively. The XRD patterns and FTIR spectra showed no significant changes in the crystallinity and structure between natural quartz and its composites with Al while adding Al. Remarkably, adding Al to the natural quartz enhanced the electrical and dielectric properties considerably, particularly at the high ratio of Al. At room temperature, the electrical conductivity of the prepared natural quartz-aluminum composites recorded 1.45, 11.13, 17.22, and 45.90 S/cm with the Al ratios of 0, 10, 20, and 30 wt.%, respectively. At the same time, their dielectric constant recorded 15.75, 60.09, 91.59, and 167.75. These results could be illustrated that being the Al as a conductor might take shape distributed areas in the natural quartz, resulting in the increasing values of the electrical conductivity, the dielectric constant, and the dielectric loss.