Electrical properties of some alkaline earth vanadate glasses

Abstract

Electrical conductivity of some alkaline earth vanadate glasses has been reported in the temperature range 80-500 K. It has been observed that the conductivity and the activation energy for different glass compositions did not differ markedly. The general behaviour of the temperature dependence of the conductivity is similar for all the glass compositions studied. At high temperatures, Mott's nearest neighbour hopping is applicable, while at low temperatures, variable range hopping is valid. The polaron hopping models of Schnakenberg and of Emin and coworkers are consistent with the experimental data in the entire temperature range of measurements. However, the polaron hopping model of Emin and coworkers is the most suitable to explain the observed behaviour. The effect of the different alkaline earth oxide modifiers on the electrical properties of the vanadate glasses is similar.