A new silver ion conducting SbI3–Ag4P2O7 nanocomposite solid electrolyte

Abstract

This paper presents an investigation on a new series of silver ion conducting nanocomposite materials of silver pyrophosphate-based solid electrolytes with various amounts of antimony iodide. The detailed electrical conductivity studies carried out by impedance spectroscopic analysis in the frequency range from 20 Hz to 1 MHz have shown that silver ionic conductivity attains a maximum value of 4.1 × 10−4 S cm−1 at room temperature for the typical composition having 60 mol% of SbI3. Powder samples characterized by X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetric analysis and silver ionic transport studies were identified to indicate the existence of AgI, in addition to certain new phases in all the different compositions of the system. The conduction channel for Ag+ ions across phosphate network was found to get expanded by the presence of iodide ion. The formation of P–O–M (M=Sb3+) within the crystal structure is also favoured, where Sb3+ ions may serve as ionic cross-links between non-bridging oxygen of different phosphate groups. The field emission scanning electron microscopic investigations of their microstructures have suggested the presence of nanocomposites, leading to the observed electrical conductivity data coupled with many interesting features closely related to the particle size and practical application as solid electrolyte for the fabrication of solid-state battery at ambient conditions.