Microscopic ion migration in solid electrolytes revealed by terahertz time-domain spectroscopy.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 31209215.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-019-10501-9 and PMC identifier 6572842.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Terahertz spectroscopy is one of the most suitable methods for the analysis of electron transport in solids, and has been applied to various materials. Here, we demonstrate that terahertz spectroscopy is the technique of choice to characterize solid electrolytes. We measure the terahertz conductivity of stabilized zirconia, a widely used solid electrolyte material, by terahertz time-domain spectroscopy at high temperatures, providing a wealth of information unavailable from conventional techniques. It is found that the conductivity reflects the microscopic motion of the ion just before hopping to an unoccupied site. Our results suggest a powerful approach in probing the ionic conduction mechanism and could help us explore other solid electrolytes for fuel cells and all-solid-state batteries.