ELECTRICAL PROPERTIES:

- Conductors
- Insulators
- Super-ionic conductors
- Semi conduction in amorphous material
➢ Introduction
Materials science is an interdisciplinary field involving the properties of matter and its
applications to various areas of science and engineering (related very closely to Solid and
Structural Mechanics). It includes elements of applied physics and chemistry, as well as chemical,
mechanical, civil and electrical engineering
➢ Electrical Properties
The electrical property of a substance is a reference to its conductivity.
Electric Conductivity of a substance is defined as its ability to transmit heat energy or electric
energy (and in some cases also sound energy). So a good conductor of electricity is easily able to
transmit the energy without boiling or melting or changing its composition in any way.
Electrical properties of materials vary largely based on their composition and chemical structure.
They are divided into three groups – conductors, semiconductors, and insulators. In other words
materials have varying degrees of conductivity i.e. all materials do not have uniform electrical
properties.
➢ Conductors
Broadly speaking, conductors are materials that have good electrical conductivity. They allow
heat energy and electric currents to transmit through them with ease and speed. Conductors
allow this transfer of energy to happen via free flow of electrons from atom to atom. They have
the ability to carry this energy throughout themselves even when the current is only applied to
one part of their body.
All metals are known to be the best conductors. Their conductivity depends on the number of
valence electrons of their atoms. These electrons are not closely bound together and can move
freely. Metals have such electrons in their atoms, and so they conduct heat and electricity so
well. Metals allow the electric field to transmit through them in conductivities order of 10 6 – 108
ohm-1.
In general properties of a conductor are listed below –

i) A conductor always allows the movement of electrons and ions in them.

ii) The electric field inside the conductor is zero allowing electrons to flow within them.
iii) The charge density inside the conductor is zero.
 iv) All points of a conductor are at the same potential.
v) Free charge exists only on the surface of the conductor
vi) At the conductor surface, the electric field is normal to the surface.
Types of Conductors
• Metals
Most conducting materials used for practical applications are metals. For example, the wire
around your house probably uses copper wires as conducting materials or their alloys. The
electric plugs have metal in them, and the internal mechanism of your electric irons also use
metals as their conducting material. This is because metals have lots of free electrons and
promote mobility. Some of the best metal conductors are Silver (Ag), Copper (Cu) and Gold (Au).
The more free electrons present in a metal, the greater its conductivity. Comparatively, silver has
better electrical conductivity than copper and gold. Since silver is far more expensive than
copper, copper finds its application in all household appliances and circuits.
Aluminium is also one of the best conductor of electricity which has a conductivity slightly lesser
than copper. It is used in the internal wiring of the home, and most commonly it is used in
combination with copper.
Silver oxide batteries are widely used in watches and hearing aids since it is light-weight and
durable.
• Non – Metals
There are some non-metals which are a very good conductor of electricity. For example, the
carbon in the form of graphite is a very good conductor of electricity. If you see the structure of
graphite, only three of the four carbon atoms are used for bonding. This leaves one electron free
for bonding. However, most non-metals are not good conductors of electricity.
• Ionic Conductors
Conductors in their solution form are called ionic conductors. For example, saltwater is an ionic
solution and is a good conductor of electricity.

• Superconductors
The superconductor is a material that offers no resistance to the flow of electrons and conducts
electricity. The superconductivity phenomenon was discovered by Heike Kamerlingh Onnes, the
Dutch Physicist in 1911. Superconductors are elements or metallic alloy, when cooled below a
certain threshold temperature, lose electrical resistance property and become superconductors.
Some of the best superconductors are niobium, cuprate, magnesium and diboride.
 ➢ Insulators
Stark opposite to conductors, insulators are materials that absolutely do not conduct any electric
energy or currents. They do not let any (or very little) electric charge flow through them. They
have a significant band gap which prevents the flow of electricity. Some examples are glass,
wood, plastics, rubber etc.
Since insulators are very bad conductors they have another use. We use them to insulate
conductors and semiconductors. For example, you must have seen copper wires with a covering
of plastic or some form of polymers. They protect the wires and cables without allowing the
electric current to go through them. This is insulation of the wire.
Important Properties of Insulators
i) In an insulator, the valence electrons are tightly held together. They do not have free
electrons to conduct electricity.
ii) The ability of the material to not allow the electric current to pass through it is called
electrical resistance. The resistance of an insulator per unit cross-sectional area per unit
length is called resistivity. Insulators have very high resistivity. For example, insulators like
glass have a resistivity value as high as 1012 Ωm. The resistance of the insulator is
considerably reduced in the presence of moisture and when there is an increase in
temperature.
iii) Insulators have large dielectric strength. The dielectric strength is the maximum electric
field that the insulator can withstand without undergoing electrical breakdown and
becoming electrically conductive.
iv) Good insulators have a high air permeability (the ability of the material to allow air to flow
through its pores) since air itself is an insulator.

➢ Semiconductors
Semiconductors are the go-between conductors and insulators. These are materials that have
the ability to conduct electricity through them but only under certain conditions. There are two
such conditions that affect the ability of semiconductors to conduct energy, heat, and impurities.
Intrinsic Semiconductor: These are pure materials with no impurities added, so they are known
as undoped semiconductors. Here we apply thermal energy to the material and create vacancies
in the valence bands. This allows the energy to pass through. And yet these are not very good
conductors and find very limited applications
Extrinsic Semiconductors: These are doped semiconductors. We add certain impurities to
increase the conductivity of the materials. There are two types of extrinsic semiconductor,
namely n-type and p-type. Examples are when we boost the conductivity of silicon and
germanium by this method.
One reason why semiconductors are an important material is that we have control over their
conductivity. This is why they find many applications, especially in electronics.
➢ Super-ionic conductors
Super-ionic conductivity refers to the electrical conductivity exhibited by a small group of solids
with high ionic conductivity and negligible electronic conductivity. In general, ionic conductivity
is due to the motion of ions, whereas the electronic conductivity results from the flow of
electrons.
For superionic conductors, also called fast ion conductors or solid electrolytes, the specific
conductivity (σ) is usually within the range from about 10−3 to 10 siemens per centimeter. These
values are very high for a crystalline ionic solid, but are still lower than many electronic
conductors such as metals, which have typical values ranging from 10 to 105 S cm−1.
Since ionic conductivity increases with increasing temperature, many superionic conductors
(such as ZrO2) exhibit high ionic conductivity only at temperatures substantially higher than room
temperature. High temperatures provide the thermal energy needed to overcome the activation
energy for ion hopping (from site to site) and increase the number of defect sites needed for ion
migration. For some crystalline solids (such as Li2SO4 and AgI), high temperatures lead to
polymorphic phase transitions, which cause an abrupt increase in the ionic conductivity.
Superionic conductors can be classified according to the type of mobile ions, the dimensionality
of conduction pathways, or the structure type of the nonmobile portion of the crystal structure.

• Cationic conductors. Common cationic conductors usually contain ions such as Ag+, Na+,
Li+, or H+.
• Anionic conductors. Common anionic conductors are usually oxide (O2−) or fluoride (F−)
conductors, such as stabilized zirconias and PbF2, which require high temperatures for
fast ion conductivity
• Amorphous conductors. In addition to crystalline inorganic solids, superionic conductivity
can also be found in amorphous inorganic materials. In general, glassy electrolytes based
on sulfides and halides have much higher conductivity than oxides at ambient
temperatures. Many Li+ and Ag+ conducting glasses are known.
• Polymer-based conductors. Superionic conductivity is also known in polymer-based
solids. These polymer electrolytes have two general types: polymer-salt complexes and
polyelectrolytes. Polymer-salt complexes are generally made by dissolving a salt (such as
LiClO4) in a polymer [such as poly (ethylene oxide)]. Both cations and anions in polymer-
salt electrolytes can be mobile. In polyelectrolytes, the polymer backbone contains
covalently attached charged (positive or negative) groups and the charge-balancing
counterions are able to make long-range migration. The best-known polyelectrolyte is
Nafion perfluorocarbon sulfonic acid polymer, which is a proton conductor under wet
conditions.
Applications. Superionic conductors are an important group of materials that have large-scale
technological applications in areas such as energy storage and generation (electrolyzers,
batteries, and fuel cells), gas sensors, and electrochromic devices.
Important terms and expressions
Resistivity
Resistivity of materials is the resistance to the flow of an electric current with some materials
resisting the current flow more than others.

Conductivity, (Greek letter sigma, σ), or specific conductance relates to the ease at which electric
current con flow through a material. It is the reciprocal of the resistivity. That is 1/ρ and is
measured in siemens per metre (S/m).

Resistance and conductance. The electrical resistance R of an object is a measure of its

opposition to the flow of electric current. Its reciprocal quantity is electrical conductance G,
measuring the ease with which an electric current pass. Electrical resistance shares some
conceptual parallels with mechanical friction. The SI unit of electrical resistance is the ohm (Ω),
while electrical conductance is measured in siemens (S) (formerly called the 'mho' and then
represented by ℧).
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Examples
1) Gold has a conductivity of 45 MS m-1. What is the resistance of a 0.01m diameter gold
connector that is 0.05m long?
2) A strand of metal is stretched to twice its original lenth. What is its new resistance. State your
assumption.
Solution
The material does not change. So resistivity is constant. Length doubles and we know that volume
must be constant.

3) Apure copper wire has a radius of 0.5mm, a resistance of 1 MΩ and is 4680 km long. What is
the resistivity of copper?

4) A material has a conductivity of 106 Sm-1. What is its resistivity?

5) Calculate the total DC resistance of a 100 metre roll of 2.5mm2 copper wire if the resistivity of
copper at 20oC is 1.72 x 10-8 Ω metre.
Data given: resistivity of copper at 20oC is 1.72 x 10-8, coil length L = 100m, the cross-sectional
area of the conductor is 2.5mm2 which is equivalent to a cross-sectional area of: A = 2.5 x
106 metres2.

That is 688 milli-ohms or 0.688 Ohms.

6) A 20 metre length of cable has a cross-sectional area of 1mm2 and a resistance of 5 ohms.
Calculate the conductivity of the cable.
Data given: DC resistance, R = 5 ohms, cable length, L = 20m, and the cross-sectional area of the
conductor is 1mm2 giving an area of: A = 1 x 10-6 metres2.

That is 4 mega-siemens per metre length.