Structural and ionic conductive properties of Bi4V2-xTixO11-δ (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.4) compound

High conducting gamma-phase can be stabilized at room temperature by substitution of various metal cations in bismuth vanadate known as Bi4V2-xMexO11-delta (Me=metal cation). In the present work Ti2O3-doped, Bi4V2-xMexO11-delta (0 <= x <= 0.4) samples were prepared by ceramic processing route and sintered over a range of temperature (750-825 degrees C) in the interval of 25 degrees C to study the influence of grain size and porosity on the ionic conductivity. A relation between microstructure, crystal structure and conductivity has been established using scanning electron microscopy, X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), a.c. impedance spectroscopy and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The study indicates that apart from phase stabilization, microstructure plays an important role to achieve high ionic conductivity. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.