Anomalous dependence on the diffusion coefficients of the ionic relaxation time in electrolytes.
We show, by using a numerical analysis, that the dynamic toward equilibrium for an electrolytic cell subject to a step-like external electric field is a multirelaxation process when the diffusion coefficients of positive and negative ions are different. By assuming that the diffusion coefficient of positive ions is constant, we observe that the number of involved relaxation processes increases when the diffusion coefficient of the negative ions diminishes. Furthermore, two of the relaxation times depend nonmonotonically on the ratio of the diffusion coefficients. This result is unexpected, because the ionic drift velocity, by means of which the ions move to reach the equilibrium distribution, increases with increasing ionic mobility.
Barbero
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G
Dipartimento di Fisica del Politecnico, Corso Duca degli Abruzzi 24, 10129 Torino, Italy.
Scalerandi
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