Sintering temperature effect on density, structural and morphological properties of Mg- and Sr-doped ceria

Strontium and magnesium doped ceria solid solutions (Ce0.99Sr0.01O1.995 and Ce0.99M0.01O1.995) were synthesized by a cost effective solid state reaction. The doped and un-doped CeO2 samples were sintered at 1200 °C, 1300 °C and 1400 °C to investigate the effect of sintering temperature and doping on density, structural and morphological properties. The density was measured by Archimedes’ method. It is observed that the density increases with increasing sintering temperature and with doping of strontium. The crystal structure and surface morphology have been characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). XRD and SEM reveals that the synthesized samples are single phase with a cubic fluorite structure, and the grains formed are of different sizes. The grain size depends on sintering temperature and type of doping. The lattice parameter increases with sintering temperature and substitution of Sr in ceria. The Grain size of Sr-doped ceria decreases, whereas that of Mg-doped ceria increases. EDS spectra show that the samples are free of contaminants. The Ce0.99Sr0.01O1.995 shows a more open structure than un-doped ceria.