Electrical conduction of electrolyte solutions in nonpolar liquids

Certain nonpolar liquids, when doped with specific salts, are able to produce sustained and reproducible ion injections from one of the electrodes. Electronic transfer to the ionic pairs attached to the electrodes and the subsequent extraction of the free ions by the Schottky effect are the mechanisms responsible for this injection. The electrical conduction of these liquids is studied, using a recently proposed electric-field dependent law for the injection of ions and Onsager theory for the dissociation of ionic pairs in the bulk. Recombination is allowed between electrolytic ions and injected ions. The current-voltage characteristics predicted with this model have been presented in term of dimensionless parameters, so that an easy comparison with experiments can be done. Special attention has been paid to distinguish the contribution of the dissociation and the injection in the total current. The electric field distortion and the charge density at the injector has also been determined.