Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

The structure and conductivity of cerium and lanthanum phosphate glasses and glass-ceramics were investigated. The effects of varying the metal to phosphate ratio in the glasses, doping LaP3O9 glasses with Ce, and recrystallization of CeP3O9 glasses, on the glasses' microstructure and total conductivity were investigated using XRD, SEM, and AC impedance techniques. Strong increases in conductivity occurred when the glasses were recrystallized: the conductivity of a cerium metaphosphate glass increased conductivity after recrystallization from 10-7.5 S/cm to 10-6 S/cm at 400oC.