The synthesis, structure, and proton conductivity of the hydrated thio-hydroxosilicogermanatesRb
zGe
xSi
1-xS
z(OH)
4-z·
yH
2O (2
z ![](/images/entities/le.gif)
3; 0 <
y < 1.7) are reported. X-ray diffraction indicates that the
z = 2 materials are
amorphous and show no unreacted starting materials, which is consistent with themechanochemical hydrothermal evaporation-precipitation synthesis method. Infrared spectroscopy showsa fully reacted system where both
silicon and
germanium central anions have vibrational modes at ~950,~780, ~667, and ~450 cm
-1 associated with asymmetric modes for Si-O, Ge-O, Si-S, and Ge-Schemical bonds, respectively. O-H stretching and bending modes are present at ~3370 and 1655 cm
-1,respectively, with the intensities of both modes decreasing with the addition of SiO
2. Raman spectroscopyreveals symmetric stretching modes of the Ge-S unit at ~420 cm
-1. A new peak appears at ~460 cm
-1with the substitution of Si
4+ for Ge
4+. There are weak peaks above ~460 cm
-1 that can be attributed toH
2O and O-H libration modes. Thermogravimetric analysis shows that water loss begins above thesynthesis temperature of ~75
![](/images/entities/deg.gif)
C. All water is lost by ~300
![](/images/entities/deg.gif)
C which is consistent with the onset of theloss of conductivity. Alternating current impedance spectroscopy measurements performed on low-pressuresealed pellets show conductivity values ranging from 10
-5 to 10
-2.5 S/cm from ~100 to 260
![](/images/entities/deg.gif)
C,respectively. Maximum conductivity values of 10
-4.5 and 10
-3.5 S/cm at 120
![](/images/entities/deg.gif)
C are obtained for 2RbSH+ 0.9GeO
2 + 0.1SiO
2 + 0.8H
2O and 3RbSH + 0.9GeO
2 + 0.1SiO
2 + 1.1H
2O, respectively. a.c.impedance experiments under humidified conditions resulted in large increases in the proton conductivityat low temperatures. For
x = 0.9 and 0.8 for the 2RbSH +
xGeO
2 + (1-
x)SiO
2 +
yH
2O samples, thehumidified d.c. conductivity was ~10
-4 S/cm at 60
![](/images/entities/deg.gif)
C, up from ~10
-8 S/cm for samples measuredunder dry nitrogen. The effects of water and SiO
2 content on the proton conductivity are also discussed.