Abstract:
The article presents the results of solution of the problem of direct electric current flow through a weakly conducting liquid located between two flat metal electrodes. This solution takes into account the influence of spatial inhomogeneity of concentration and the degree of dissociation of ion pairs on electromigration processes. The behavior of ions and ion pairs is described using electrokinetic equations. This system of equations, combined with boundary conditions for concentration fluxes, allows one to model the redox process at the electrodes, during which steady-state concentration and electric potential profiles are established in the volume between the electrodes. It is shown that the significant nonlinearity of the processes under consideration leads to topologically different current-voltage characteristics, which continuously transform into one another as the parameters of the problem change. From a practical standpoint, this study allows for a more in-depth analysis of the phenomena occurring during the technological process of protonation of a lithium niobate crystal immersed in molten benzoic acid. This process is used to create channel waveguides in photonic integrated circuits. The proposed approach to describing electrical conductivity makes it possible to exclude abstract boundary conditions used in earlier works.
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