Transport characteristics of 0.3 KCl : 0.7 ZrO2 solid electrolyte

Composite solid electrolyte having composition 0.3 KCl : 0.7 ZrO2 (mol %) w hich is highly conducting in the system (1-x) KCl : x ZrO2 has been prepare d following the conventional ceramic powder processing route. The temperatu re dependent conductivity to) and mobility (mu) have been studied using com plex impedance spectroscopy and transient ionic current techniques respecti vely. The noticeable conductivity enhancement is found to take place from 3 00 degreesC at which the sigma was 1.6 muS/m. The conductivity at 500 degre esC up to which the measurements are taken is 1120 muS/m. The increase in t he ionic mobility in the temperature range 300 to 460 degreesC is found to be nominal. The temperature dependent carrier concentrations (n) as estimat ed from the temperature dependent sigma and mu data has been found tb incre ase from 7.24 x 10(17) m(-3) (at 300 degreesC) to 9.70 x 10(19) m(-3) (at 4 60 degreesC). This study indicates that the ionic conductivity is predomina ntly governed by mobile ion concentration.