Fabrication of a high lithium ion conducting lithium borosilicate glass

A lithium ion conducting glass, Li(2)O-B(2)O(3)-SiO(2), is fabricated by the conventional melt and quenching technique from a mixture of Li(2)CO(3), B(2)O(3) and SiO(2) powders. It appears that B(2)O(3) decreases the crystallization tendency of the Li(2)O-SiO(2) binary glass, resulting in an expanded glass forming region in the Li(2)O-B(2)O(3)-SiO(2) ternary glass. The maximum conductivity is 2 x 10(-6) S cm(-1) at 25 degrees C for the 50Li(2)O-38B(2)O(3)-12SiO(2) glass sample. The observed high conductivity is due to the mixed former effect. The conductivity strongly depends on the Li(2)O content, but not on K (SiO(2)/B(2)O(3)) in the Li(2)O-B(2)O(3)-SiO(2) ternary glass. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.