Synthesis, Crystal Structure, and Ionic Conductivity of MgAl_2-xGa_xCl₈ and MgGa₂Cl₇Br

Abstract

MgAl2-xGaxCl8 and MgGa2Cl7Br was synthesized from MgCl2, MgBr2, AlCl3, and GaCl3, and the physical properties were evaluated by XRD, AC conductivity, and X-ray fluorescence. MgAl2-xGaxCl8 has the same crystal structure as MgAl2Cl8, belongs to the space group C2/c, and forms a solid solution in all the synthesized compositions. We attempted to MgGa2Cl8-yBry synthesize in the same manner as MgAl2Cl8, but only obtained MgGa2Cl7Br as a single-phase compound. The AC conductivity of MgAl2-xGaxCl8 was lowest for MgAl2Cl8 and highest for MgGa2Cl8. The conductivity of MgGa2Cl8 at 400 K was 1.7 × 10−6 S/cm. The conductivity of MgGa2Cl7Br was higher than that of MgAl2-xGaxCl8 with a value of 1.6 × 10−5 S/cm at 400 K. The formation of Mg metal was observed at the surface of the cathode electrode in an experiment of flowing a direct current using an electrochemical cell, indicating that this compound is a magnesium ion conductor.

Keywords

• crystal structure
• solid solution
• solid electrolyte
• Mg ion conductor