Crystal Structures and Ionic Conductivities of Ternary Derivatives of the Silver and Copper Monohalides: I. Superionic Phases of Stoichiometry MA4I5:RbAg4I5, KAg4I5, and KCu4I5

The superionic properties of the compounds RbAg₄I₅, KAg₄I₅ and KCu₄I₅ have been investigated by powder neutron diffraction and complex impedance spectroscopy. RbAg₄I₅ and KAg₄I₅ have room-temperature ionic conductivities of σ=0.21(6) and 0.08(5) Ω⁻¹ cm⁻¹, respectively, which increase gradually on increasing temperature. KCu₄I₅ is only stable in the temperature range between 515(5) K and its melting point of 605 K, and its ionic conductivity is σ=0.61(8) Ω⁻¹ cm⁻¹, at T=540 K. At lower temperatures, KCu₄I₅ disproportionates into KI+4CuI and the ionic conductivity falls by over three orders of magnitude. Least-squares refinements of the powder neutron diffraction data for RbAg₄I₅ at ambient temperature confirm the reported structure (space group P4₁32, Z=4, a=11.23934(3) Å), though with some differences in the preferred locations of the mobile Ag⁺. KAg₄I₅ and KCu₄I₅ are found to adopt the same basic structure as RbAg₄I₅, with the I− forming a β-Mn-type sublattice, with the K⁺ located in a distorted octahedral environment and the Ag⁺(Cu⁺) predominantly distributed over two sites which are tetrahedrally co-ordinated to I⁻. The implications for the conduction mechanism within these compounds are discussed, using a novel maximum entropy difference Fourier technique to map the distribution of the Ag⁺(Cu⁺) within the unit cell.