Broadband Dielectric Spectroscopy—A Practical Guide

The purpose of this chapter is to provide a practical overview of broadband dielectric spectroscopy (BDS) as it applies to the modern analytical chemistry laboratory. The word “practical” is carefully chosen here—this chapter will focus on summarizing the everyday practice of this rapidly growing technique for the unfamiliar but interested analytical chemist. There are more-comprehensive reviews, perspectives, and books on BDS which will be suggested here, but over the next several pages it is hoped that the reader who is almost entirely new to this technique will gain an appreciation for its applicability toward solving unique problems in cooperation with several other ubiquitous analytical techniques—and will gain a confident understanding of the capabilities needed to duplicate these efforts. Much of this chapter can be ignored by the experienced dielectric spectroscopist, although it is the desire of this author that the perspective of an industrial chemist provides at least some degree of education for all. The chapter will first provide a brief history of the technique and justification for this book, followed by a simple review of data analysis, then an overview of state-of-the-art commercial instrumentation, and finally a review of applications of the technique from the recent literature.