Effect of nanocrystallization on electrical conductivity of glasses and composites of the AgI–Ag2O–B2O3 system

Amorphous and glassy–crystalline samples of the AgI–Ag2O–B2O3 system with high content of AgI were prepared. It was shown that annealing of initially amorphous samples (with AgI content not higher than 60 mol%) leads to formation of crystalline grains of β-and γ-AgI and to a conductivity increase to 1.1·10− 2 S cm− 1 at 20 °C (for AgI content of 55 mol%). The conductivity enhancement was attributed to interfacial regions surrounding crystalline grains. As-received samples with higher contents of AgI (≥ 75 mol% AgI) have high concentration of crystalline grains, mainly of AgI. The temperature dependence of conductivity undergoes step-like changes (close to 150 °C on heating and close to 120 °C on cooling). These changes are a consequence of the β-α-AgI phase transitions taking place in the crystallites.