Electrical transport in Li2SO4–Li2O–P2O5 ionic glasses and glass–ceramic composites: A comparative study

A comparative investigation carried out between glasses and glass–ceramics, in the system (Li2SO4)x–(LiPO3)1 − x, reveals interesting results. The conventionally melt-quenched compositions for x ≤ 60 mol% were found to be purely glassy in nature. The glass–ceramic composites obtained by crystallization of the glassy samples were found to be composed of fine nanocrystallites of LiPO3 and Li2SO4 embedded in the glass matrix. The electrical conductivity, in both glasses as well as glass–ceramics, increases with Li2SO4 content and found to be maximum for a composition with 60 mol% of Li2SO4. Scaling of the conductivity spectra reveals that the relaxation dynamics of Li+ ions is independent of temperature and composition for glasses as well as glass–ceramics. Further, the cyclic voltammetry investigations suggest a relatively better stability of glass–ceramic samples at least up to 300 °C.