Frequency and temperature dependencies of a.c. conductivity of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)-CoCl2 composites

The a.c. conductivity for polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)-CoCl₂ composites prepared by a casting method has been measured at different frequencies (0.1–10 kHz) in the temperature range 300–450 K. At constant temperature, the frequency dependence of a.c. conductivity, (), was found to fit the established equation () = A ^s quite well. On the other hand, the temperature dependence of a.c. conductivity suggested an electronic hopping conduction mechanism in a thermally assisted electric field. Various theoretical mechanisms have been discussed to clarify the conduction processes in these samples. The correlated barrier hopping (CBH) mechanism, proposed by Elliott, was found to be the most appropriate one.