Electrical transport and dielectric modulus formalism of CuO doped ZrO2 partially stabilized solid solution

Abstract

We have investigated the dielectric behavior and electrical transport property of partially stabilized nanocrystalline zirconia doped with copper oxide in the temperature range 373K<T<623K and in the frequency range 20Hz–1MHz. The samples are prepared by high energy ball milling method and Rietveld refinement method have been employed to figure out the structural and microstructural changes of different phases and relative phase abundances along with particle size. The cubic phase of zirconia is developed as a course of milling with increased microstrain. The activation energy of different samples depends on milling time. The d.c. transport process is attributed to the adiabatic small polaron model while the ac frequency exponent study shows correlated barrier hopping model to be the prevailing model. The imaginary dielectric modulus is characterized by distinct peaks which shift with change in temperature. The impedance study shows the grain boundary resistances are higher than the grain resistances.