Dielectric relaxation of porous glasses

The dielectric properties of porous glasses, obtained from sodium borosilicate glass, were investigated in the frequency range 20 Hz to 1 MHz and temperature range -100 degrees C to +300 degrees C for the purpose of inferring the geometric properties of porous materials. The features of the dielectric properties due to the geometrical disorder were analysed by using models describing the non-Debye slow decay dynamics. The dielectric response is affected by the geometrical micro- and mesostructural properties of the porous matrix and the properties of the material filling the pores. It provides information on the hindered dynamics of water molecules, located within the pores and affected by the surfaces. An analysis of the dielectric parameters enables us to describe the porosity of the materials. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.