Dielectric Properties of Lithium Hydrazinium Sulfate

The dc conductivity and ac dielectric susceptibility of normal and deuterated lithium hydrazinium sulfate have been measured over a wide temperature range at frequencies up to 9.33 GHz. Over a very large temperature and frequency range the real and imaginary parts of the susceptibility are very large (up to ${\ensuremath{\epsilon}}^{\ensuremath{'}}\ensuremath{\simeq}{\ensuremath{\epsilon}}^{\ensuremath{'}\ensuremath{'}}\ensuremath{\simeq}{10}^{6}$) and vary with frequency somewhat as ${f}^{\ensuremath{-}\frac{1}{2}}$. This unusual behavior is shown to result form the nearly one-dimensional protonic conductivity and its extreme sensitivity to barriers caused by local structural defects. Etching studies indicate that the crystal is not ferroelectric, implying that the apparent hysteresis loops result from saturation of the ac conduction.