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

•A phase shifts from monoclinic to cubic has been observed.•The dc conductivity of the samples increases with increasing temperature.•The dc conduction mechanism is governed by the adiabatic small polaron model.•At high frequency side a large deviation from the ideal Debye type behavior is observed.•Interfacial boundary resistances are larger than grain resistances.

We have investigated the dielectric behavior and electrical transport property of partially stabilized nanocrystalline zirconia doped with copper oxide in the temperature range 373 K < T < 623 K and in the frequency range 20Hz-1 MHz. 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.

Graphical abstractThe imaginary dielectric modulus is characterized by distinct peaks which is shifted to higher frequency with increasing temperature.Download high-res image (161KB)Download full-size image