ELECTRICAL CONDUCTIVITY OF SINGLE CRYSTALLINE Ag7PS6

Abstract

The search and study of new materials suitable for use in the newest solid-state batteries is an important direction of modern solid-state ionics. Among the potential materials, it is worth mentioning compounds of the argyrodite family. The characteristic feature of these phases is the presence of a disordered cationic sublattice, which provides significant cationic conductivity in the solid state. This work presents the results of studies of the electrical conductivity of a single crystalline sample of ltm-Ag7PS6. The single crystal of Ag7PS6 was grown by the method of directional crystallization from the melt. The crystal was identified by means of XRD method. It was found that the grown Ag7PS6 sample crystallizes in a low-temperature modification in a primitive cubic cell. The frequency (1×101–3×105 Hz) and temperature (25-100°C) dependence of the total electrical conductivity was measured on an oriented and specially prepared ltm-Ag7PS6 single crystalline plate (using gold contacts). The total conductivity of Ag7PS6 single crystals is 6.51×10–7 S/cm (t = 25°C). According to the results of temperature studies of the dependence of the total conductivity, the thermal activation nature of the conductivity was established. Keywords: argyrodites; single crystals; phase analysis; electrical conductivity.