Phys.org  January 14, 2022 In solid electrolytes the ionic conductivity is often markedly degraded by the fact that the ions get blocked at the crystallite grains boundaries. An international team of researchers (Spain, Germany, USA – MIT, Japan) has shown how light can be used to lower the barrier height that ions encounter at grain boundaries and enhance the flow of the ions by orders of magnitude by optimizing the system. They demonstrated the effect of light on the movement of oxygen ions through solid electrolyte composed of ceria and gadolinium. According to the researchers the process can be applied […]