A simple and effective process for fabrication of Gd0.1Ce0.9O1.95 solid electrolyte ceramics

Ce0.9Gd0.1O1.95 ceramics were prepared using a simple and effective process in this study. Without any prior calcination, the mixture of raw materials was pressed and sintered directly. The reaction of the raw materials occurred during the heating up period by passing the calcination stage in the conventional solid-state reaction method. More than 99.5% of theoretical density was obtained for Ce0.9Gd0.1O1.95 sintering at 1500-1600 °C. Fine grains (<1 μm) formed in pellets sintered at 1450 °C. The homogeneity of grains increased with the sintering temperature. The grains grew to >4.5 μm in pellets sintered at 1600 °C. The reactive-sintering process is proved to be a simple and effective method in preparing Ce0.9Gd0.1O1.95 ceramics for solid electrolyte application.