A comparative study on ionic conductivity of Sr and Mg stabilized zirconia by impedance spectroscopy

The high ionic conductivity of stabilized zirconia materials by substitutional doping of lower valent metal oxides (MgO, SrO, CaO, Y2O3, Sc2O3, etc.) are materials of outstanding technological importance. The Mg and Sr stabilized zirconia have been synthesized by co-precipitation method. The formation of the compound has been confirmed from XRD analysis. The particle size has been calculated from the XRD analysis and are found to be in the order of nm. The electrical characterization is carried out using the impedance spectroscopy method in the frequency range of 50 Hz–5 MHz. The conductance spectra show the dc plateau and dispersive region. The dispersive region suggests the correlated hopping motion of ions. The charge carrier concentration is found to be higher for Sr stabilized zirconia rather than for Mg stabilized zirconia. The bulk resistance for Sr and Mg stabilized zirconia have been found to be in the order of 3.47 × 107 Ω cm−1 and 5.05 × 105 Ω cm−1.