Activation energy for conduction in Y2O3-stabilized zirconia

The ac conductivity spectra were measured in the temperature range from 313 to 473K for a Y2O3-stabilized ZrO2 (YSZ). Then the dc conductivity was deduced and its temperature dependence analyzed. It was shown that, at low temperatures, the activation energy for conduction in YSZ increases with increasing temperature. This experimental phenomenon is rather different with those observed previously in the high temperature range in which the activation energy was found to decrease with increasing temperature. Based on the analyses of the mechanisms for disassociation and migration of oxygen vacancies in the materials, a reasonable explanation for the temperature dependence of the activation energy for conduction in YSZ was proposed.