Electrical properties of the potassium polytitanate compacts

Highlights: • Quasi-static permittivity of potassium polytitanates compacts achieves 10⁴–10⁵. • Observed Maxwell–Wagner polarization attributes to layered structure of polytitanates. • The conductivity varies from 5 × 10⁻² to 10⁻⁶–10⁻⁷ Sm/m in a wide range of temperatures. - Abstract: Titanates of alkali metals are widely applied materials as they are relatively low in cost and might be easily synthesized. They are utilized as adsorbents, catalysts, solid state electrolytes, superconductors. Here we report our results on electrical properties of the compacted amorphous potassium polytitanates powders. The electrical properties of the compacts were studied by means of complex impedance spectroscopy in a wide range of frequencies at different temperatures using two-electrode configuration. The frequency dependences of conductivity for the investigated potassium polytitanates compacts varies in the range from 5 × 10⁻² Sm/m (high frequencies, ion conductivity) up to 10⁻⁶–10⁻⁷ Sm/m (low frequencies, electron conductivity) for a wide range of temperatures (19–150 °C). According to the results, at low frequencies quasi-static permittivity of the stabilized PPT compacts achieves high values of 10⁴–10⁵. This might be explained by Maxwell–Wagner polarization attributed to the layered structure of the potassium polytitanates particles containing potassium and hydronium ions together with crystallization water in the interlayer and is very promising for solid state electrolyte applications for moderate temperatures