Ionic-to-electronic conductivity of glasses in the P₂O₅-V₂O₅-ZnO-Li₂O system

Abstract.

Glasses having a composition 15V₂O₅-5ZnO-(80-x P₂O₅-xLi₂O (x = 5 , 10, 15 mol%) were prepared by the conventional melt quenching. Conduction and relaxation mechanisms in these glasses were studied using impedance spectroscopy in a frequency range from 10 Hz to 10 MHz and in a temperature range from 513 K to 566 K. The structure of the amorphous synthetic product was corroborated by X-ray diffraction (disappearance of nacrite peaks). The DC conductivity follows the Arrhenius law and the activation energy determined by regression analysis varies with the content of Li₂O. Frequency-dependent AC conductivity was analyzed by Jonscher's universal power law, which is varying as $\omega^{n}$, and the temperature-dependent power parameter supported by the Correlated Barrier Hopping (CBH) model. For x = 15 mol%, the values of $n \le 0.5$ confirm the dominance of ionic conductivity. The analysis of the modulus formalism with a distribution of relaxation times was carried out using the Kohlrausch-Williams-Watts (KWW) stretched exponential function. The stretching exponent, $\beta$, is dependent on temperature. The analysis of the temperature variation of the M” peak indicates that the relaxation process is thermally activated. Modulus study reveals the temperature-dependent non-Debye-type relaxation phenomenon.