Solid electrolytes with multivalent cation conduction (2) zinc ion conduction in Zn$z.sbnd;Zr$z.sbnd;PO4 system

Zinc ion conducting materials have been found in the system Zn-Zr-PO4, and the composition of the material with the maximum conductivity has been estimated to be ZnZr4(PO4)6 having the similar crystal structure as that of MgZr4(PO4)6. The conductivities of this compound are 1.34×10−6 and 1.57×10−3 S/cm at 500 and 900°C, respectively, and the activation energies for conduction are 90 kJ/mol between 750 and 900°C and 134 kJ/mol between 500 and 700°C, respectively. The charge carrier of this material was confirmed to be zinc ions by the Tubandt's method and the electron probe micro-analysis.