The Utility and Limitations of Distribution of Relaxation Times (DRT) Methods for Impedance Analysis

Abstract Distribution of Relaxation Times (DRT) models are gaining popularity among researchers employing electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, especially by those studying fuel cells. The main reason for this popularity is that DRT is deemed non-parametric and has a perceived ability to resolve processes with similar timescales. In this manuscript, we show that DRT results are strongly dependent on a user selected parameter and the time constants obtained do not necessarily correlate with those associated with physical systems.