Glass formation and high conductivity in the ternary system AgI + Ag3AsO4 + AgPO3: host to glassy AgI

Wide regions of glass formation have been found in the ternary system xAgI + yAg3AsO4 + (1 - x - y)AgPO3. Glasses containing up to 75 mol % AgI can be formed in sections greater than 2 cm thick without signs of devitrification. Glass transition temperatures as high as 1750C for glasses containing approx. 10 mol% AgI fall to approx. 450C at the highest AgI content. An equivalent ratio of AgI:N is defined and it is found that, for all glass-forming compositions, the electrical data as expressed in the Arrhenius form, sigma = A exp(-E/sub act/RT), log (sigma/omega cm)-1), log (A/omega cm)-1), E/sub act//(kcal mol-1), and additionally T/sub g/K, can be described as linear functions of N. These data are used to give support to the view of these glasses as being hosts to a liquidlike AgI giving rise to the high conductivity they exhibit, as high as 0.0143 (omega cm)-1 at room temperature for glasses containing the maximum AgI. Finally, from these linear relationships, functions for the mobility μ and number of the mobile Ag+ cations n are developed. 29 references, 8 figures, 2 tables