The existence of conduction channels in lithium silicate (Li2O)(SiO2) was investigated. Regions of the system, where many different ions pass by, form channels and were thus spatially correlated. For a closer analysis the properties of the individual ionic sites were elucidated. The mobility of ions in single sites was found to depend strongly on the number of bridging O atoms in the coordination shell. The channels were not reflected in the network structure as obtained from the distribution of the bridging O atoms. Spatial correlations similar to those found in the silicate also emerged from studying the dynamics of particles in a simple random lattice model. This supported the suggestion that the observed spatial correlations could be viewed by analogy to the emergence of percolation paths.

Emergence of Conduction Channels in Lithium Silicate. H.Lammert, A.Heuer: Physical Review B, 2004, 70[2], 024204 (5pp)