Understanding oxygen vacancy diffusion in Yttria-Stabilized Zirconia (YSZ) via X-ray photon correlation spectroscopy (XPCS)

We propose to investigate the atomic-scale ion transport mechanism in Yttria-Stabilized Zirconia (YSZ) via X-ray photon correlation spectroscopy (XPCS) in the wide-angle X-ray diffuse scattering (XDS) regime. We will measure the mean residence times of ions (or vacancies), their jump pathways, and the associated energy barriers via temperature dependence. We anticipate that the knowledge obtained can be used for new concepts and rational improvement of fast ion conductors.