Relaxation processes in an alternating-current electric field and energy loss mechanisms in hafnium diselenide cointercalated with copper and silver atoms

Samples based on hafnium diselenide intercalated with atoms of two types, Cu_xAg_yHfSe₂ at (x + y) ≤ 0.2, have been synthesized for the first time. The frequency dependences of the components of the complex impedance have been measured using impedance spectroscopy in the frequency range from 1 Hz to 10 MHz, and the specific features of the relaxation processes occurring in samples of different compositions have been analyzed. It has been shown that the characteristic times of these processes depend not only on the total concentration of intercalated atoms, but also on the ratio between them. As the total concentration of copper and silver increases, the onset of frequency dispersion of the complex admittance shifts to the higher frequency range. The relative contributions from the conduction and relaxation polarization losses also change depending on the total and element concentrations of the intercalated atoms.