Stability and electrical property of Ba1−xSrxCe0.8Y0.2O3−δ high temperature proton conductor

The morphological and electrical properties of Ba1−xSrxCe0.8Y0.2O3−δ with x in the range from 0 to 1 prepared by a modified Pechini method were investigated as potential high temperature proton conductors. Dense microstructures were achieved for all the samples upon sintering at 1500 °C for 5 h. The phase structure analysis indicated that perovskite phase was formed for 0 ≤ x ≤ 0.2, while for x larger than 0.5, impurity phases of Sr2CeO4 and Y2O3 appeared. The tolerance to H2O for the samples improved with the increase in Sr content when exposed to boiling water, while the electrical conductivity decreased from x = 0 to 1. However, the resistance to CO2 attack at elevated temperatures was not improved for Ba1−xSrxCe0.8Y0.2O3−δ within the whole x range studied.

Research highlightsThis work aims to fill the knowledge gap and attempts to more completely understand the stability and the electrical properties of (Ba,Sr)(Ce,Y)O3−δ high temperature proton conducting materials. In this study, the morphological and electrical properties of Ba1−xSrxCe0.8Y0.2O3−δ with x varying from 0 to 1 prepared by a modified Pechini method have been investigated as potential high temperature proton conductors. The phase structure analysis indicated that perovskite phase has been formed for 0 ≤ x ≤ 0.2, while for x larger than 0.5, impurity phases of Sr2CeO4 and Y2O3 have appeared. The tolerance to H2O for the samples has been found to improve with the increase in Sr content when exposed to boiling water, while the electrical conductivity decreases from x = 0 to 1. The conductivity tests indicated that Ba1−xSrxCe0.8Y0.2O3−δ possessed the electrical conductivity between BaCe0.8Y0.2O3−δ and SrCe0.8Y0.2O3−δ. The conductivity decreased and the activation energy increased with the increase in Sr content in Ba1−xSrxCe0.8Y0.2O3−δ. The work presented here is original and significant, and of great interest in the materials science and solid state chemistry community which merit urgent publication in Journal of Alloys and Compounds.