Differential scanning calorimetry
(DSC), impedance spectroscopy (IS) and X ray diffraction were
used to study the composite solid electrolytes (1-x)NH4HSO4-xAl2O3
(x?0.5) and (1-x)NH4HSO4-xSiO2
(x<=0.7). Alumina with grain size of 10 ?m, pores size of
~6 nm and silica with grain size of 14 nm were used. The SiO2
and Al2O3 particles have different effects
on the NH4HSO4 thermal phase behaviour:
the phase transitions of NH4HSO4 at
154 K and 420 K (melt-ing point) were not affected by the
silica doping, whereas in the (1-x)NH4HSO4-xAl2O3
com-posites, Al2O3 affects the enthalpy of both transitions
such that the phase transitions at 154 K and at 420 K disappeared
for x >=0.3. The DSC results shows that new morphological
states are formed by the Al2O3 doping because new phase boundaries
are observed below the melting point of AHS in the composites.
The X-ray diffraction data also confirm that the composites
with alumina be-comes more amorphous as x increases reaching
completion for x >= 0.3. On the other hand, the dc-conductivity
is only improved on adding either Al2O3 or SiO2 to AHS in
the solid phases of the composites. The results are discussed
in terms of the influence of the dispersed second phase on
the overall electrical response and phase behaviour of the
composites. |