The effect of proton interactions on the conductivity behavior in systems with superionic phases

The proton conductivity in the hydrogen-bonded systems with strong correlat ions between protons is investigated theoretically in the context of the tw o-stage transport modeling approach. The distortions of the nearest ionic g roups at the formation of the hydrogen bond are shown to be the reason for the strong proton-phonon coupling and polaronic effect. We evaluate as an e xample the conductivity for M3H(XO4)(2)-class of crystals with high proton mobility in (001) conducting planes. We analyze the temperature dependencie s of the conductivity and its interbond and intrabond contributions in the vicinity of the transition from the disordered superionic to the ordered st ate. We investigate also the main peculiarities in the frequency dependenci es of the conductivity appearing due to the proton interactions and compare our results with the previous conclusions obtained for the chains of nonin teracting protons. (C) 2001 American Institute of Physics.