The structures and electrical properties of four NASICON
compositions,
Na1.4M1.6In0.4(PO4)3 (M = Ti, Sn, Hf, Zr), have been
determined and compared. Rietveld refinement of
powder X-ray diffraction data confirmed the basic rhombohedral NASICON
structure with
random occupancy of the octahedral In/M sites, full occupancy of the
Na(1) sites and partial
occupancy of the Na(2) sites. For three compositions, M =
Zr, Sn, and Hf, the 31P MAS
NMR peak intensities of the four detected signals, attributed to four
different phosphorus
environments
[P(OM)4
-
n
(OIn)
n
(n = 0−3)], were close to the ratios expected for a
random
distribution of In/M. For M = Ti, some departures from
statistical occupancy were apparent.
23Na MAS NMR data gave evidence for two
Na+ positions at room temperature for M =
Ti,
Sn, attributable to occupation of Na(1) and Na(2) sites.
For M = Hf, Zr, only a single signal
could be resolved at room temperature, which splits into two signals on
cooling to − 50 °C,
indicating high Na mobility at room temperature. Impedance data
obtained on pressed
sintered pellets over the range 25−300 °C showed that bulk ionic
conductivities increased
and activation energies decreased in the sequence Ti, Sn, Hf, Zr.
The geometry of the M1M2
bottleneck has been determined from structural data, and a direct
correlation found between
activation energy for ion conduction and the bottleneck
size.