Ionic diffusion and local hopping in copper chalcohalide glasses measured using Cu tracer and I-Mössbauer spectroscopy

For the first time, ⁶⁴Cu tracer measurements of ionic diffusion were performed for several copper-rich glass compositions in the CuI---As₂Se₃, CuI---SbI₃---As₂Se₃, CuI---PbI₂---As₂Se₃, CuI---PbI₂---SbI₃---As₂Se₃ and Cu₂Se---As₂Se₃ systems. In accordance with previous a.c. impedance results and Wagner d.c. polarization measurements, it was found that pure Cu⁺ ion-conducting glasses (50CuI---17PbI₂---33As₂Se₃ and 50CuI---20PbI₂---10SbI₃---20As₂Se₃) exhibit the highest copper tracer diffusion coefficients, D_Cu, and the lowest diffusion activation energies. The values of D_Cu at room temperature are higher by 4.5–5.5 orders of magnitude than those in an As₂Se₃ glass. The Haven ratio, H_R, is found to be 0.52–0.61 (ternary glass) and 0.93–1.00 (quaternary glass). Short-range diffusional displacements of the iodide ions induced by the hopping Cu⁺ ions are also detected in the CuI---PbI₂---SbI₃---As₂Se₃ glassy system using ¹²⁹I-Mössbauer spectroscopy in the temperature range of 4.2 to 305 K. The activation energy of local hopping, E_h ≈ 0.31 eV, is very similar to that of bulk ionic conductivity (0.37 eV) and copper diffusion (≈ 0.33 eV). In contrast to CuI-based vitreous alloys, 50Cu₂Se---50As₂Se₃ glass exhibits D_Cu that are two to five orders of magnitude lower, and the copper ion transport number, t_Cu⁺, is between 10⁻³ and 10⁻⁴ in the temperature range 140–170 °C.