CLUSTERING EFFECTS ON THE ELECTRICAL-PROPERTIES OF A METAL-SOLID-ELECTROLYTE COMPOSITE

The clustering effects on the electrical properties of a metal-solid-e lectrolyte composite are studied by a random resistor network simulati on in two dimensions. The clusters are grown according to the diffusio n-limited cluster-cluster aggregation (DLCA) model. Both the bulk effe ctive conductivity and the effective capacitance of the 2D composite a re evaluated by using a ''Delta-Y'' transformation algorithm. For freq uencies not very high, our simulations have shown an enhancement of bo th the effective conductivity and the capacitance of this composite sy stem due to the effect of clustering, Our simulations also show relati vely small concentrations in the metallic grains at which an large enh ancement of the capacitance of the composite systems can be obtained. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V.