STUDIES ON SODIUM METASILICATE PLUS HYDRAZINE SULFATE GEL AS A POSSIBLE PROTON CONDUCTOR .1. STRUCTURAL AND ION-TRANSPORT STUDIES

The new proton-conducting gel system xNa(2)SiO(3) + (100 - x)N2H6SO4 i s reported. The gel system is prepared by an aqueous-based sol-get pro cess. Structural studies have been carried out using IR, XRD and DTA/T GA techniques. The gel systems possess new structural phases and are t hermally stable relative to the starting materials. The ion-transport studies in the gel have been carried out using various techniques like polarization, coulometry, TIC and complex impedance spectroscopy. The gel compositions have been found to be predominantly ionically conduc ting (t(ion) similar or equal to 1) at room temperature as well as at high temperatures. The main transporting species are identified to be protonic (H+ and OH-) with respective transference numbers t(H) simila r or equal to 0.70 and t(OH-) similar or equal to 0.14. Na+ are also i dentified to be mobile in the gel network. The mobilities of these ion s have been evaluated at various temperatures. The electrical conducti vity of these gels is very high (similar or equal to 10(-2) S cm(-1)) and is found to vary with composition, temperature and relative humidi ty.