Electrical properties and conductivity mechanism of LiCuFe2(VO4)3

This paper reports conduction mechanism in LiCuFe₂(VO₄)₃ over a wide range of temperatures (300 to 712 K) and frequencies (209 Hz to 5 MHz). The DC conductivity of the material is thermally activated with activation energy about 0.66 eV. In LiCuFe₂(VO₄)₃, the electrical conductivity is probably due to the hopping of alkali lithium ion along the channel 001]. Temperature dependence of AC conductivity is studied at different frequencies. Frequency exponent s is found to decrease with increase in temperature. The results have been explained on the basis of correlated barrier hopping (CBH) model. Numerical calculations agree well with experimental results. The results show that the frequency and temperature-dependent behavior of AC conductivity of the studied materials are predominantly due to single polaron hopping.