Resonant increase of ionic conductance of yttria-stabilized zirconia in an alternating external electric field

The effect of an external alternating electric field on the diffusion of O 2− ions in yttria-stabilized zirconia was studied by the molecular dynamics method in a wide frequency range (10 6 –10 9 Hz) with a variation of the molar fraction of the dopant. It was found that in the frequency range of the external electric field from 2·10 8 to 3·10 8 Hz, the value of the diffusion coefficient resonantly increases; the exact value of the resonant frequency depends on the composition of the solid electrolyte. The influence of two simultaneously applied external electric fields, alternating and constant, was studied, and two variants of the relative positions of the field vectors were considered: perpendicular to each other and co-directional. With the co-directional imposition of two electric fields, alternating with an amplitude of strength equal to 0.02 V/Å and constant with a strength equal to 0.02 V/Å, the resonance is especially noticeable: 2.63·10 −10 m 2 /s at Y 2 O 3 content of 4.6 mol.%, which is 2.22 times more than the average value of the diffusion coefficient at frequencies (1–5)·10 6 Hz and 2 times more than the average value at frequencies (5–9)·10 9 Hz.