Structural and dielectric features of silver doped sodium antimonate glass ceramics

Abstract

The objective of this work is to explore the Ag ion concentration dependence on structural and dielectric characteristics of Na2OSb2O3: Ag2O glass ceramics. The prepared glass ceramics were characterized by XRD, XPS, SEM, TEM, EDS and DSC techniques. These studies have revealed that the samples are composed of multiple crystal grains entrenched in the remnant amorphous phase. The IR and Raman spectroscopic studies indicated increasing degree of polymerization of the glass network with increase of Ag2O concentration up to 0.1 mol%. This is attributed to increasing concentration of tetrahedral Sb5+ ions that take part in the glass network forming. Optical absorption spectra have exhibited surface plasmon resonance (SPR) band in the wavelength region 400–450 nm. Quantitative studies on dielectric properties were performed over wide ranges of frequency and temperature and the variations of these properties with the concentration of Ag2O are discussed in the light of various polarization processes. Dipolar orientational effects exhibited by electric moduli spectra suggested multiple relaxation times for electric dipoles. The observed decrease of A.C. conductivity (that contains both ionic and polaronic components) with increase of Ag2O content up to 0.1 mol% is attributed to the increasing degree of polymerization of the glass network that hinders the migration of charge carriers. The polaronic conduction is understood due to exchange of polarons between Sb3+ ‒ Sb5+ and Ag0 Ag+ ions, while ionic conductivity is predicted due to transport of monovalent silver and Na+ ions. A changeover of polaronic to ionic conductivity seemed to take place at about 0.1 mol% Ag2O.