Dielectric Spectroscopy: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow

The theory of orientational polarization and dielectric relaxation was developed by P. Debye more than 100 years ago. It approximates a molecule by a sphere having one or more dipole moments. While in the beginning the experimentally accessible spectral range was limited to roughly 6 decades in freq...

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Main Authors: Friedrich Kremer, Martin Tress
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-06-01
Series:Applied Sciences
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/13/6954
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author Friedrich Kremer
Martin Tress
author_facet Friedrich Kremer
Martin Tress
author_sort Friedrich Kremer
collection DOAJ
description The theory of orientational polarization and dielectric relaxation was developed by P. Debye more than 100 years ago. It approximates a molecule by a sphere having one or more dipole moments. While in the beginning the experimentally accessible spectral range was limited to roughly 6 decades in frequency, at the end of the last century, novel spectroscopic techniques were developed and dielectric spectroscopy became broadband, nowadays covering 18 decades with no gaps.This paved the avenue for a multitude of novel fields of research in soft matter and solid-state physics including fundamental questions like the scaling of relaxation processes or the dynamics of glasses. Yet the analysis of dielectric spectra is still based on the classical approach by Debye which does not consider the multitude of intra- and inter-molecular interactions within a molecular system. To experimentally overcome these principal limitations, it is suggested to take advantage of the molecular specificity of the infrared spectral range. This offers the unique possibility to realize a novel “Orientational Polarization Spectroscopy”, in which the orientational response of a molecular system can be analyzed on an atomistic scale. For that, the theory will be outlined and the first experimental results will be presented.
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spelling doaj-art-a54d4896e7444ee0a55b31996bac5d4d2025-08-20T03:16:42ZengMDPI AGApplied Sciences2076-34172025-06-011513695410.3390/app15136954Dielectric Spectroscopy: Yesterday, Today and TomorrowFriedrich Kremer0Martin Tress1Peter Debye Institute for Soft Matter Physics, Faculty of Physics and Earth System Sciences, Universität Leipzig, Linnéstr. 5, 04103 Leipzig, GermanyPeter Debye Institute for Soft Matter Physics, Faculty of Physics and Earth System Sciences, Universität Leipzig, Linnéstr. 5, 04103 Leipzig, GermanyThe theory of orientational polarization and dielectric relaxation was developed by P. Debye more than 100 years ago. It approximates a molecule by a sphere having one or more dipole moments. While in the beginning the experimentally accessible spectral range was limited to roughly 6 decades in frequency, at the end of the last century, novel spectroscopic techniques were developed and dielectric spectroscopy became broadband, nowadays covering 18 decades with no gaps.This paved the avenue for a multitude of novel fields of research in soft matter and solid-state physics including fundamental questions like the scaling of relaxation processes or the dynamics of glasses. Yet the analysis of dielectric spectra is still based on the classical approach by Debye which does not consider the multitude of intra- and inter-molecular interactions within a molecular system. To experimentally overcome these principal limitations, it is suggested to take advantage of the molecular specificity of the infrared spectral range. This offers the unique possibility to realize a novel “Orientational Polarization Spectroscopy”, in which the orientational response of a molecular system can be analyzed on an atomistic scale. For that, the theory will be outlined and the first experimental results will be presented.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/13/6954orientational polarizationBroadband Dielectric Spectroscopyglassy dynamicsOrientational Polarization Spectroscopy
spellingShingle Friedrich Kremer
Martin Tress
Dielectric Spectroscopy: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow
Applied Sciences
orientational polarization
Broadband Dielectric Spectroscopy
glassy dynamics
Orientational Polarization Spectroscopy
title Dielectric Spectroscopy: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow
title_full Dielectric Spectroscopy: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow
title_fullStr Dielectric Spectroscopy: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow
title_full_unstemmed Dielectric Spectroscopy: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow
title_short Dielectric Spectroscopy: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow
title_sort dielectric spectroscopy yesterday today and tomorrow
topic orientational polarization
Broadband Dielectric Spectroscopy
glassy dynamics
Orientational Polarization Spectroscopy
url https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/13/6954
work_keys_str_mv AT friedrichkremer dielectricspectroscopyyesterdaytodayandtomorrow
AT martintress dielectricspectroscopyyesterdaytodayandtomorrow