Ion transport studies in CuI-doped silver borovanadate glassy system

In the present report, ionic transport properties and microstructural investigations of superionic materials in a cost-effective glassy system xCuI–(100 − x)[2Ag ₂O–0.7V ₂O ₅–0.3B ₂O ₃], where x = 30, 40, 45, 50 and 60, have been described. The temperature dependent electrical conductivity studies were carried out by ac impedance analysis. The microstructure of the materials studied by SEM indicated the presence of dispersed CuO and AgI micro-crystals in the silver oxysalt glass matrix. High room temperature electrical conductivity of 3.58 × 10 ⁻³ S cm ⁻¹ and low activation energy of 0.24 eV were obtained for the best conducting composition. The ac impedance data were analyzed using impedance and modulus formalisms. These materials show extremely high t _i value of 0.999 and the ionic conductivity is apparently due to Ag ⁺ ions only. The use of two glass formers helped to form materials with higher T _g, higher thermal stability and better ionic transport properties.