Study on rare earth/alkaline earth oxide-doped CeO2 solid electrolyte

Five types of rare earth/alkaline earth oxide-doped CeO2 superfine-powders were synthesized by a low-temperature combustion technique. The relevant solid electrolyte materials were also sintered by pressureless sintering at different temperatures. The results of X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy showed that the grain size of the powders was approximately 20-30 nm. and rare earth/alkaline earth oxides were completely dissolved into ceria-based solid solution with fluorite structure. The electrical conductivities of the Sm2O3-CeO2 system were measured by the ac impedance technique in air at temperatures ranging from 513-900°C. The results indicated that the ionic conductivities of Sm0.20Ce0.8O1.875 solid electrolyte increase with increasing sintering temperature, and the relationship between the conductivities and measuring temperature obeys the Arrhenius equation. Then the Sm2O3-CeO2 material was further doped with other rare earth/alkaline earth oxide, and the conductivities improve with the effective index.