Structure-conductivity relations in ion conducting glasses

The bond valence method has been applied to reverse Monte Carlo (RMC) produced structural models of a wide range of ion conducting glasses in order to elucidate the relation between the microscopic structure and the ionic conductivity. Our approach allows us to predict the ionic conductivity of the glasses directly from the “pathway volume” of the structural models and to investigate the nature of these low-dimensional conduction pathways. The pathways are defined to be the regions in the structural models where the valence mismatch for each mobile ions remains below a given threshold value. The results for the metal-halide doped glasses show the importance of including M⁺ sites with a high oxide coordination for the long range mobility, responsible for the dc conductivity. Thus, there are no long range migration pathways for M⁺ sites in an entire halide environment. Rather, the mobile ions are generally moving between sites with a local environment of both oxygens and halide ions, in contrast to earlier proposed “cluster models” where it has been assumed that cations associated with salt clusters are responsible for the high ionic conductivity. Finally, our bond valence approach provides a direct explanation for why the conductivity is favoured by highly polarizable anions and cations, since the pathway volume is related to the softness of the M⁺-X bond. Paper presented at the 9th EuroConference on Ionics, Ixia, Rhodes, Greece, Sept. 15 – 21, 2002.     

Predictability of ion transport properties from the structure of solid electrolytes

The concept of bond valence (BV) is widely used in crystal chemical considerations, e.g. to assess equilibrium positions of atoms in crystal structures from an empirical relationship between bond lengthR _M−X and bond valenceS _A−X =exp [(R ₀ −R _M−X ) /b] as sites where the BV sumV(A)=∑ s _M−X equals the formal valenceV _id of the cationM ⁺ . Our modified BV approach that systematically accounts for the softness of the bond may then be effectively used to study the interplay between structure and properties of solid electrolytes. This is exemplified for correlations to experimental data from IR, NMR, and impedance spectroscopy. Combining the bond valence approach with reverse Monte Carlo (RMC) modeling or molecular dynamics (MD) simulations provides a deeper understanding of ion transport mechanisms, especially in highly disordered or amorphous solids. Local structure models for crystalline electrolytes are derived by combining crystallographic structure information with simulations. A method for the prediction of the activation energy of the ionic conductivity from the bond valence analysis of the crystal structure is proposed. Taking into account the mass dependence of the conversion factor from bond valence mismatch into an activation energy scale, we could establish a correlation that holds for different types of mobile ions. The strong coupling of the H⁺ transfer to the anion motion in proton conductors requires a special treatment. For glassy solid electrolytes RMC structure models are BV-analyzed to assess the total number of equilibrium sites and to identify transport pathways for the mobile ions. Recently, we have reported a correlation between the pathway volume fraction and the transport properties that permits to predict both absolute value and activation energy of the dc ionic conductivities of disordered solids (including mixed alkali glasses) directly from their structural models. Here we discuss a corresponding BV analysis of molecular dynamics simulation trajectories that allows quantifying the evolution of pathways in time and the influence of temperature on the transport pathways. Paper presented at the Patras Conference on Solid State Ionics — Transport Properties, Patras, Greece, Sept. 14 — 18, 2004.     

Solid state lithium ion conductors: Design considerations by thermodynamic approach

The most common previously employed methods of designing useful solid state lithium ion conductors (SSLICs) are reviewed and a new approach for the rational design of advanced SSLICs is described, which makes use of thermodynamic considerations. The described method is based on the Gibbs energy of formation of binary compounds of substitutional or additional cations (including dopants) and is demonstrated by the improvement of the lithium ion conductivity of SSLICs having perovskite-, NASICON- and Li₄SiO₄-type structures. Dopant metal oxides with higher negative Gibbs energies of formation than that of the parent metal oxide increase commonly the lithium ion conduction. The stronger binding forces of the oxide ion with the dopant cation result in an electrostatic shielding of the attractive forces between the lithium ions and the anions which facilitates the ionic motion. Irrespective of the crystal structure, it is expected that this thermodynamic rule holds also for other mobile ionic species. Paper presented at the 8th Euroconference on Ionics, Carvoeiro, Algarve, Portugal, Sept. 16–22, 2001.     

Ion transport pathways in molecular dynamics simulated alkali silicate glassy electrolytes

The xM₂O-(1 − x)SiO₂ (M = Li, Na, and K, and 0.1 ≤ x ≤ 0.5) glass systems have been studied by constant volume molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. The bond valence (BV) method is applied to the equilibrated configurations to analyse the structural variation in these glass systems with increasing network modifier content, its consequence for M⁺ ion mobility, as well as the distribution of bridging and non-bridging oxygen atoms and the variation of the Q_i values. The contribution of non-bridging oxygen atoms to the BV sums exhibits a transition around x = 1/3 for Li₂O and Na₂O doped glasses. The observed Q_i variation is consistent with a bond order model. Despite slight deviations of the interatomic distances in the MD-simulated glasses, their BV analysis reveals characteristic features of the ion transport pathway. For complex disordered systems with low ion mobilities the bond valence analysis of the pathway characteristics for the mobile ion is thus a viable method to extract ion transport properties even if the mobilities are too low to be directly analysed from the mean square displacements over the simulated period.     

Some stereochemical criteria concerning the structural stability of A2BX4 compounds of type β-K2SO4

In A₂BX₄ structures which are isostructural to β-K₂SO₄ (with A being a monoatomic cation) there are two crystallographically independent cations surrounded by 11 and 9 X-atoms. The 11-coordinated cation is less firmly bound and the arrangement of its five closest neighbours is irregular. One of these contacts is approximately parallel to the pseudohexagonal axis of the structure and is often shorter than the sum of the corresponding ionic radii. A survey of available structural data indicates that the low-temperature structural instability of a good number of these compounds is related to the coordination of this 11-coordinated cation and especially to the bonding strength of this short bond, which is often the shortest cation-anion contact in the structure. Typically, the relative contribution of this contact to the bond-valence sum of the 11-coordinated cation is larger in the compounds which undergo phase transitions at lower temperatures. The presence of this short contact is correlated with the ratio of the lattice parameters a/b (Pnma-setting). In general, the Pnma phase is unstable at low temperatures in those compounds where this ratio is smaller. On the other hand, the value of a/b can be related to the ratio of the effective sizes of cations and BX₄ tetrahedra, so that typical low-temperature instabilities of the β-K₂SO₄ structure occur for smaller values of the ratio between cation radius and the sum of the ionic radii of atoms A and X. In most cases, the resulting phase transitions stabilize modulated structures (frequently incommensurate), with slight distortions with respect to the β-K₂SO₄ structure. However, when the bond valence sum of the eleven-coordinated cation is extremely low, more drastic (first-order) structural changes are observed (e.g. phase transitions into the Sr₂GeS₄ structure type). In addition, the survey indicates, especially in complex oxides, that low-temperature phase transitions are more probable in those structures with looser packing. Considering the criteria proposed, a set of compounds is indicated where low-temperature phase transitions are plausible.     

Ab initio prediction for the ionic conduction of lithium in LiInSiO4 and LiInGeO4 olivine materials

In this paper, olivine-type LiInSiO₄ and LiInGeO₄ as fast ionic conductors are predicted by ab initio density functional studies. The nudged elastic band approach showed extremely small energy barrier for lithium ion hopping to neighboring sites with 0.23 eV for LiInGeO₄ and 0.36 eV for LiInSiO₄. However, formation energy for the intrinsic defects including lithium ion vacancy sites is expected to be large (more than ～1.5 eV), which suppresses ionic conductivity severely. Therefore it is expected that doping these olivine-type materials with higher valent cations may be a better option to create lithium ion vacancies.     

A model for the heat of transport in ionic conductors

The ion flow caused by a temperature gradient originates the ionic thermopower which is quantified by the heat of transport. Experimentally, it is known that in superionic conductors, the heat of transport Q is nearly equal to the activation energy for ion transport E_a. In the present paper, a model for the heat of transport in ionic conductors has been proposed based on a lattice dynamical theory of diffusion. We have shown that the relationship between Q and E_a is determined by the participation degree of different phonon modes, in particular the short wavelength phonons to the atomic jump processes. The implication of this finding to the transport properties of superionic conductors has been discussed, and it is suggested that the degree of the collective motion in ionic conductors increases with the increase in Q/E_a. The model predicts that good ionic conductors will show large value of Q/E_a. The importance of the acoustic phonons in the ion transport processes has been also pointed out.     

Bicyclic diironcryptates with mobile guest cations: A new class of solid ionic conductors

Polycrystalline bicyclic diironcryptates with different mobile guest cations were synthesized and characterized by XRD analysis, IR spectroscopy, FAB-mass spectroscopy, elemental analysis, electrical conductivity spectroscopy and ion exchange experiments. We find strong indication that the guest cations exhibit a long-range mobility and that their mobility is governed by their size relative to the size of the cryptand molecules. On the other hand, the valence of the guest cations seems to play a minor role for the mobility. These results are discussed in comparison to the properties of conventional solid cationic conductors.     

Oxide ion conductivity of double doped lanthanum gallate perovskite type oxide

Doping transition metal cation is known to enhance the electronic conduction of solid electrolytes, however, the ionic conduction can also be improved by those dopants. In this investigation, the oxide ion conductivity of LaGaO₃ based oxide doped with transition metal cations such as Fe, Co, Ni, Mn, and Cu for the Ga site was studied. It was found that doping Co or Fe is effective for enhancing the oxide ion conductivity. The improved oxide ion conductivity may be induced by the improved mobility of oxide ion. Among examined transition metal cations, cobalt is the most adequate cation as a dopant for the Ga site of LSGM. Considering the conductivity and the transport number, the optimized composition is found to be La_0.8Sr_0.2Ga_0.8Mg_0.115Co_0.085O₃. In this work, application of Co²⁺ doped LSGM as the electrolyte of internally reformed fuel cells was also investigated. Improvement in oxide ion conductivity is effective for enhancing the power generation characteristics. Paper presented at the 4th Euroconference on Solid State Ionics, Renvyle, Galway, Ireland, Sept. 13–19, 1997     

Cation disordering in Ag2HgI4 and Cu2HgI4

The cation order-disorder transitions in Ag₂HgI₄ and Cu₂HgI₄ are first order. This is unusual, since in other superionic conductors the cation disordering is gradual with temperature if there is no structural phase transition. These two materials are also unique in that they have two disordering cations rather than one. A study of a two species lattice gas model shows that this extra degree of freedom is responsible for the first order nature of this transition on the fcc lattice.     

Proton conduction in oxides: A review

Solid oxides that show proton conduction at elevated temperatures may be useful materials for many applications, such as hydrogen sensors, fuel cells etc. These materials contain no structural protons and only become proton conductors if some cations are ion exchanged with H₃O⁺ or NH ₄ ⁺ or hydrogen and/or water vapour is dissolved in the oxides according to the relationships derived by Wagner. The several basic mechanisms whereby mobile protons can be introduced into oxides, and the properties of a number of examples are discussed. Paper presented at the 2nd Euroconference on Solid State Ionics, Funchal, Madeira, Portugal, Sept. 10–16, 1995     

Empirical relationships for ion conduction based on vibration amplitude in perovskite-type proton and superionic conductors

For superionic and deformed perovskite-type H⁺-ion conductors, empirical relationships among atomic mass of host or substituted ion, H⁺-ion conductivity, σ_PR, activation energy, transition temperature T_c, etc. are proposed. We elucidate the roles of heavy host ion and specific crystal structures below and above the T_c on the H⁺-ion conduction by noticing a large amplitude of O-ion vibration mode arising from a large fourth order anharmonicity. We clarify the important role of strengthened ionic force for the host cation lattice at and above T_c on the H⁺-ion jumping, and interpret reasonably the σ_PR value depending on the concentration of doping ion, a large broadening of vibration band and an enhanced amplitude of OH-vibration mode, etc. We suggest the extension of this consideration to stabilized zirconium and superproton conductors, etc.     

New prospects in studying Li diffusion—two-time stimulated echo NMR of spin-3/2 nuclei

The measurement of diffusion parameters like activation energies and translational jump rates of small cations plays a key role in materials science. Especially the in-depth investigation of Li diffusion in ionic conductors is of great interest, because suitable ionic conductors are needed for, e.g., the development of new secondary ion battery systems. As the standard tracer method is not applicable to study Li diffusion due to the lack of a suitable radioactive isotope, Li diffusion is alternatively probed by solid state NMR techniques. With the different NMR methods being available, diffusion processes can be studied on different length- and timescales. In the present paper we use two-time spin-alignment echo (SAE) NMR for the direct, i.e., model independent, measurement of extremely small translational Li jump rates. To this end, different crystalline and glassy ion conductors like Li_xTiS₂, Li₄SiO₄ as well as LiNbO₃ served as model substances to reveal the special features of this technique. SAE-NMR, which was originally developed for deuterons, has also been applied in a few cases to spin-3/2 nuclei, like ⁷Li, before. The corresponding correlation functions yield not only information about diffusion parameters but also about geometric properties of the diffusion pathways, making SAE-NMR a powerful method which complements well-established NMR techniques.     

The ionic Seebeck effect and heat of cation transfer in Cu2−δSe superionic conductors

The ionic Seebeck coefficients of Cu_2?δSe superionic conductors are measured in the temperature range 340–380°C. The data obtained are used to determine the heat of transfer Q _i of copper ions as a function of the degree of nonstoichiometry and the temperature. The heat of transfer of copper cations increases from 0.19 to 0.22 eV as the degree of nonstoichiometry δ increases from 0.015 to 0.050. It is noted that the heat of transfer Q _i tends to increase with an increase in the temperature. Assumptions regarding the specific features of the cation diffusion in the Cu_2?δSe superionic conductors are made from the observed closeness of the heat of transfer and the activation energy for ionic conduction.     

A study of iso- and alio-valent cation doped Ag2SO4 solid electrolyte

2 SO₄. The solid solubility limits up to x≤3 mole% for monovalent, x≤5.27 mole% for divalent and x≤3.63 mole% for trivalent cation doped Ag₂SO₄ are set with XRD, SEM, IR and DSC techniques. A predominant dependence of conductivity on the ionic size of iso- and alio-valent cations is observed. In particular, the conductivity enhances in both α and β phases, despite having a lower ionic-size dopant cation (relative to that of Ag⁺) in the transition element cation doped Ag₂SO₄. Ca²⁺, Ba²⁺, Y³⁺ and Dy³⁺ doped samples show depature from the regular behaviour in the β-phase. The conductivity behaviour is discussed considering ionic size, valence and electronic structure of the guest cations. Received: 3 February 1997/Accepted: 27 May 1997     

Size effects on cation heats of formation. IV. Methyl and ethyl substitutions in methyl,methylene, acetylene and ethene

An empirical relation between the heat of formation of molecular ions and cation size is used to study the effects of methyl and ethyl substitution of hydrogen atoms on the cations of the C_nH_m hydrocarbons methyl, methylene, acetylene and ethene. The results provide tests of the graphical method, revealing regularities and irregularities in the empirical size relation used, as well as its value as a predictive tool for determining cation and neutral heats of formation. Of the 36 C_nH_m cations studied, only 5 have heats of formation listed in the renowned ATcT tables. Some C_nH_m cation heats of formation are questioned or eliminated, mainly in cases where multiple choices are available in the literature. Proposals are made for investigating or re-investigating the ionisation energies and the heats of formation of several of the molecules studied where no data previously exist or where our analysis suggests that more reliable values are needed. The relative effects of methyl and ethyl substitution on the thermodynamic stability of the series of alkyl-substituted C_nH_m cations are discussed.     

Chemical bonding and lithium ion conductions in Li3N

Electronic states of Li ions during the ionic jumps in the Li₃N crystal was discussed on the basis of the first principle molecular orbital calculations. The movements of the Li ions were simulated by several model clusters with different positions of the moving cation. The net charge of the moving Li ion and the total bond overlap population between the moving Li ion and the other ions were used for discussion of chemical bonding of the moving Li ion. Furthermore we have estimated the local cluster energy (LCE) to compare the energy change in the different moving path of the Li ion. The total bond overlap population of the moving Li ion along the conduction path changed smaller than those of the other paths. On the other hand, the changes of the net charges of the moving Li ions were similar in any paths. The change of the LCE in the model cluster of the conduction path was much smaller than that in another model cluster. As the results, the smaller change of the total bond overlap population of the moving Li ions played an important role for the fast ion movement in the Li ion conductors, rather than the change of the net charge of the moving Li ions. This bonding state of the moving Li ions is one of the characteristics of the electronic state in Li ion conductors.     

In-situ formation of local inhomogeneities in semiconductors

The transport properties of ionic conductors such as α-AgI and Li_0.23La_0.69Fe_0.3Ti_0.7O₃ and of electronically conducting semiconductors such as α-Ag₂S and Ag_xWO₃ as a result of the application of voltages smaller than the decomposition voltage by two ionically blocking electrodes were investigated. The mobile ionic as well as the mobile electronic species are shifted from one electrode side to the other one. The change in the stoichiometric composition within the sample as a result of this transport process causes the formation of local inhomogeneities leading to changes in the electrical and optical properties. The experimental results also show that Nernst's law is not only valid for ionic conductors but also for semiconductors as well when a steady state is reached for ionically blocking electrodes. Paper presented at the 4th Euroconference on Solid State Ionics, Renvyle, Galway, Ireland, Sept. 13–19, 1997     

Defect engineering by synchrotron radiation X‐rays in CeO2 nanocrystals

This work reports an unconventional defect engineering approach using synchrotron‐radiation‐based X‐rays on ceria nanocrystal catalysts of particle sizes 4.4–10.6 nm. The generation of a large number of oxygen‐vacancy defects (OVDs), and therefore an effective reduction of cations, has been found in CeO₂ catalytic materials bombarded by high‐intensity synchrotron X‐ray beams of beam size 1.5 mm × 0.5 mm, photon energies of 5.5–7.8 keV and photon fluxes up to 1.53 × 10¹² photons s^?1. The experimentally observed cation reduction was theoretically explained by a first‐principles formation‐energy calculation for oxygen vacancy defects. The results clearly indicate that OVD formation is mainly a result of X‐ray‐excited core holes that give rise to valence holes through electron down conversion in the material. Thermal annealing and subvalent Y‐doping were also employed to modulate the efficiency of oxygen escape, providing extra control on the X‐ray‐induced OVD generating process. Both the core‐hole‐dominated bond breaking and oxygen escape mechanisms play pivotal roles for efficient OVD formation. This X‐ray irradiation approach, as an alternative defect engineering method, can be applied to a wide variety of nanostructured materials for physical‐property modification.     

Density functional theory study of the bis‐3‐benzo‐crown ethers and their complexes with alkali metal cations Na+, K+, Rb+ and Cs+

The binding interactions of bis‐3‐benzo‐15‐crown‐5 ethers and bis‐3‐benzo‐18‐crown‐6 ethers (neutral hosts) with a series of alkali metal cations Na⁺, K⁺, Rb⁺ and Cs⁺ (charged guests) were investigated using quantum chemical density functional theory. Different optimized structures, binding energies and various thermodynamic parameters of free crown ethers and their metal cation complexes were obtained based on the Becke, three‐parameter, Lee–Yang–Parr functional using mixed basis set (C, H, O, Na⁺ and K⁺ using 6‐31 g, and the heavier cation Rb⁺ and Cs⁺ using effective core potentials). Natural bond orbital analysis is conducted on the optimized geometric structures. The main types of driving force host–guest interactions are investigated. The electron donating O offers a lone pair of electrons to the contacting LP* (1‐center valence antibond lone pair) orbitals of metal cations. The bis‐3‐benzocrown ethers are assumed to have sandwich‐like conformations, considering the binding energies to gauge the exact interactions with alkali cations. It is found that there are two different types of complexes: one is a tight ion pair and the other is a separated ion pair. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.