Narrow Results

This work investigated the structure and dielectric behavior of precursor-derived spark plasma sintered (SPS) hafnium dioxide (HfO₂). X-ray diffractograms confirmed the presence of monoclinic HfO₂ (m-HfO₂) and scanning electron micrographs revealed micron/nanosized grains and grain boundaries in SPS m-HfO₂. The theoretical density of ceramics is 94%, and the porosity is very low. In the temperature interval of 25–$200^{\circ }$C, the real part of the permittivity (${\epsilon }^{\prime }$) is almost frequency- and temperature-independent and the ${\epsilon }^{\prime }$ value is about 21 in the frequency range 10${}^2-$10⁶Hz. ${\epsilon }^{\prime }$ of SPS ceramics is higher than that of traditionally sintered HfO₂ ceramics. At temperatures above 225^∘C, there is a sharp increase in the permittivity and loss at low measuring frequencies. In order to comprehend the underlying conduction mechanisms, an analysis of the dispersion dependences of the dielectric response was undertaken. High permittivity values were attributed to the space charge polarization mechanism occurring at grain boundaries due to the thermally activated movement of oxygen vacancies. The DC conductivity of SPS m-HfO₂ is thermally activated, and conductivity is determined by oxygen vacancies through hopping mechanism.

As information technologies continue to evolve, the gap between those who were born before (digital immigrants) and after (digital natives) the technology revolution continues to widen. Building on the technology acceptance model, we examine the determinants and influences on attitudes towards using FinTech services and analyze differences in attitudes between the two categories of consumers. The results show the relevance of digital literacy, financial literacy, perceived ease of use and the personal habits of consumers in prompting a positive attitude towards the use of FinTech services. Digital natives have stronger personal habits oriented towards information systems; they rate their own levels of digital literacy higher and also perceive ease of use in FinTech. Digital immigrants rate their levels of financial literacy higher. The research highlights the relevance of improving the financial literacy of digital natives and the digital literacy of digital immigrants. Moreover, it is important to investigate further measures that would increase the perceived ease of use of FinTech by digital immigrants.