Comparison between thermally-stimulated current and complex impedance spectroscopy measurements on a dehydrated Ca-montmorillonite

The polarization conductivity, sigma'(omega) of a Ca-montmorillonite has be en determined by complex impedance spectroscopy. The technique of thermally -stimulated currents (TSC) leads to the determination of the different rela xation parameters, such as the distribution function of thr: different rela xation processes. The results demonstrated the coherence of the two approac hes, and confirmed that the conducting phenomenon is due to the hopping of charge carriers between localized sites. The energy corresponding to the ho pping process is evaluated using two different methods of analysis of the T SC signal. The values obtained are compared to those observed on a Na-montm orillonite.