Structural and dynamic properties of LiN[O.sub.3] + [Al.sub.2][O.sub.3] nanocomposites

The structural and dynamic properties of lithium nitrate LiN[O.sub.3] and its heterogeneous composites with a nanopowder of aluminum oxide [Al.sub.2][O.sub.3] at different temperatures, phase states, and concentrations of the [Al.sub.2][O.sub.3] nanopowder have been investigated using Raman scattering, differential thermal analysis, and X-ray diffraction. It has been shown that, in the (1 - x)LiN[O.sub.3] + x[Al.sub.2][O.sub.3] composites, an amorphous phase (for x ≥ 0.5) is formed, whose thermal effect is observed at 185°C. The calculations of the dynamic characteristics of vibrations of the nitrate ion, as well as the differential thermal and X-ray diffraction analyses, have demonstrated that the nanocomposite can be represented as a highly disordered "quasilattice" in which "sites" are occupied by nanoparticles with amorphous lithium nitrate shells and spaces between them (conventionally "interstitial sites") become channels of a facilitated flow of the ion current.