Study of microstructure and electrical conduction mechanisms of quaternary semiconducting glassy systems: Effect of mixed modifiers

In this work, we have investigated microstructural, optical properties, and electrical conduction mechanism of two ternary and four quaternary glassy systems of 0.65Zn0-0.1P(2)O(5)-0.25 [xTeO(2)-(1-x) MoO3] composition to uncover a more reliable semiconductor nanocomposite system for various types of suitable applications. XRD patterns and TEM micrographs reveal the presence of amorphous phases with a few superposed nanocrystallites. The optical bandgap energy (E-opt) values, obtained from UV-Vis spectra, vary with TeO2 concentration (x), and an inverse relationship between E-opt and average nanocrystallite size (d(C)) is identified. It is detected that DC and AC conductivity increase as temperature rises, manifesting a semiconducting feature. DC conductivity shows non-linearity and caused by the small polaron hopping process, whereas the modified correlated barrier-hopping (CBH) model is the applicable mechanism for AC conductivity. Scaled spectra of conductivity unveil that the conductivity relaxation process depends on the composite structure and does not depend on temperature.