Characterization of chemical composition and electronic structure of Pt/YSZ interfaces by analytical transmission electron microscopy

Platinum/yttria stabilized zirconia (Pt/YSZ) interfaces with two different orientation relationships were characterized using advanced analytical transmission electron microscopy methods. Quantitative X-ray energy dispersive spectroscopy (XEDS) was performed by the recently developed ζ-factor method. Neither interdiffusion nor segregation was detected across the Pt/YSZ interfaces of both orientation conditions within the resolution limit of the technique. The interface specific components of the electron energy-loss near-edge structures (ELNES) were extracted by employing the spatial difference technique. Features of the O-K ELNES at the interface are distinctly different from that at bulk YSZ indicating Pt-O bonding. The experimentally observed changes in the O-K ELNES are in good agreement with the results of ab-initio full multiple scattering calculation, based on structure modeling at the interfaces.