A novel facile way to synthesize proton-conducting Ba(Ce,Zr,Y)O3 solid solution with improved sinterability and electrical performance

A novel hybrid route, combining simple co-precipitation and conventional solid state reaction, is proposed for the first time to synthesize BaCe0.4Zr0.4Y0.2O3−δ powders at a temperature as low as 1150 °C. This temperature is much lower than that used for conventional solid state reaction method and even comparable to that used in sol–gel route. The reasons for the low calcination temperature are analyzed in detail from the macroscopic to microscopic viewpoints. Moreover, with the powders made by the novel method, dense ceramic could be easily obtained. Further, impedance data illustrated that its electrical conductivity in wet H2 at 750 °C is up to 1.39 × 10−2 S/cm, which is the highest among all the samples prepared by the three different methods and much higher than the reported results related to BCZY proton conductors. Also, the new method is particularly suitable for other multi-component oxides.