Preparation and Processing Temperature Effects on Ion Conductivity in Solution Derived Sodium Zirconium Phosphate (NaZr2P3O12) Thin Films

Abstract

Sodium zirconium phosphate, NaZr2P3O12, thin films have been prepared via a chemical solution approach on platinized silicon substrates. The films are observed to crystallize at temperatures in excess of 725°C and are highly 012-textured. Film grain size scales with processing temperature with grain sizes of 96 to 142 nm measured for films processed at 750°C to 800°C, respectively. Room temperature sodium-ion conductivity also scales with processing temperature with values of 3.5 × 10−7 to 5.1 × 10−7 S/cm measured. Activation energies for sodium-ion conduction measured from room temperature to 150°C were invariant with processing condition and are approximately 0.49 eV. The ionic conductivity and activation energy values agree well with bulk ceramic reference data and thus demonstrate that sodium super ionic conducting thin films with bulk-like properties are possible in thin film embodiments.