ALUMINALESS COMPOSITE SOLID ELECTROLYTES I - ENHANCED ELECTRICAL TRANSPORT IN BETA-LI2SO4-NA2SO4 SYSTEM

beta-Li2SO4-Na2SO4 composites have been prepared by quenching the melt and characterized by DTA and complex impedance analysis to obtain dc electrical conductivity (sigma(dc)). The samples containing upto 50 m/o Na2SO4 are actually mixtures of beta-Li2SO4 and LiNaSO4 and those containing 50 to 100 m/o Na2SO4 are essentially mixtures of Na2SO4 and LiNaSO4. Both the mixtures exhibit enhanced sigma by 1 to 2 orders of magnitude. The mechanism of enhancement in these mixtures appears to be similar to that in Al2O3-dispersed solid electrolytes, better known as "composite solid electrolytes". Thus there is enormous scope for further studies on the so-called aluminaless composite solid electrolytes, and possibility of even developing them into commercial solid electrolytes.