Dielectric Properties of KOH-Doped D₂O Ice

Abstract

Dielectric properties of KOH-doped D₂O ice were studied experimentally on polycrystalline samples. A monodispersive dielectric dispersion was obtained by annealing at 250 K (−20°C). The phase transition was observed at 76 K but the decrease of the static dielectric constant indicating a degree of order in deuteron ordering was small. By deuteration, the transition temperature was raised by 4 K and the activation energy was also raised to 2.1 eV, but the fundamental relaxation time in the Arrhenius expression was not altered. From these results, some correlation between the magnitude of the activation energy and the proton (or deuteron) ordering is deduced as an experimental fact.