Crystallization kinetics and electrical conductivity of AsSe9 glass on the addition of Cu

Abstract The effect of the addition of Cu to AsSe 9 glass (AsSe 9 Cu x with 0≤ x ≤0.1), prepared by quenching the melt, was studied using X-ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimeter, scanning electron microscopy and dc conductivity. Studies of the crystallization kinetics using the non-isothermal single scan technique shows that nuclei are already present in the as-quenched alloy and that the growth occurs in three dimensions. The addition of Cu increases the dc conductivity by four orders of magnitude (1.4×10 −17 –4.6×10 −13 ) and decreases the activation energy of conduction (0.63–0.44 eV). The structure examination reveals that the annealed materials (at temperature 40°C for 72 h), consists of crystalline material of large grains (∼160 μm) embedded in less crystalline matrix. Furthermore, it shows that the increase in Cu content enhances the crystallization.