ELECTROCHEMICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF THE POINT-DEFECTS ASSOCIATED WITH COPPER DISSOLVED IN STABILIZED ZIRCONIA

As an exploratory experiment, the sweep voltammetry technique along with the “point electrode” technique were applied to a single crystal of stabilized zirconia doped with copper. Both techniques clearly showed the existence of a well-defined change in the oxidation state of the copper. The sweep voltammetry equations were fairly well obeyed and gave an activation energy for the diffusion coefficient of the active species of about 1.6 eV. The close similarities observed between the oxidation and reduction processes favor an explanation in terms of a prevalent diffusion of electronic carriers toward fixed copper centers. © 1979, The Electrochemical Society, Inc. All rights reserved.