NASICON-type materials have been under investigation due to their potential as solid electrolytes with high ionic conductivity. This is due to their covalent network of tetrahedral and octahedral sites with ions occupying the interstitial sites. Through modification of the covalent network, the bottleneck dimensions within the lattice can be changed thereby influencing the ionic conductivity. This work will look into modifying the system of magnesium zirconium phosphate, by substituting the phosphate tetrahedral sites with silicate. The resulting powder can be defined by Mg_1+x/2Zr₄P_6-xSi_xO₂₄ where 0<x<6.

Different compositions (varying x) were calcined at various temperatures and the structure was investigated using X-ray diffraction (XRD), FTIR and Raman spectroscopy. Additionally, the sintering behaviour was investigated and analysed under SEM before investigating the conductivity to evaluate the effect of changing the composition.