Electrical conductivity relaxation measurements: Application of low thermal mass heater stick

The widely used electrical conductivity relaxation technique for extracting kinetic data such as diffusivity and surface reaction rates typically relies on monitoring relaxations following changes in pO2 rather than changes in temperature. In this study, we demonstrate the utility in examining conductivity relaxation upon rapid changes in temperature to aid in deconvoluting defect migration and formation energies. This is achieved by the use of a low thermal mass heater stick enabling rapid variations in sample temperature. We apply this technique to a specimen of Pr0.1Ce0.9O2 − δ to determine the reduction (Hr) and carrier mobility (Hm,i) energies. We further illustrate the ability to extract activation energies, with high precision, over narrow temperature ranges, by sinusoidal variation in temperature.