An anomalous enhancement in the electrical conductivity of Li2O : B2O3 : Al2O3 glasses

The study of electrical conductivity of 27.5 Li2O : (72.5 − x) B2O3 : x Al2O3 glass samples has been carried out. It has been observed that the conductivity exhibits Arrhenius behavior for all samples up to glass transition temperature Tg. Beyond Tg, an anomalous enhancement followed by decrease in conductivity has been observed. The results have been explained by dividing the temperature range into two regions. In region-I, it has been observed that the conductivity variation exhibits a maximum at 2.5 mol% Al2O3, which has been explained on the basis of Mixed Glass Former Effect (MGFE). An anomalous enhancement in the conductivity observed in region-II has been attributed to the nucleation in the glass. The subsequent decrease in the conductivity has been attributed to the crystallization of the glass samples.