Structural and electrical properties of Cr-doped SrTiO3 porous materials

Series of single-phase materials with assumed formula SrTi1−xCrxO3 (where x = 0, 1, 4, 6 mol.%) were obtained by sol-gel method. The structure and microstructure of materials were characterised by X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy methods. Moreover, the study of electrical properties and evaluation of chemical stability in CO2/H2O atmosphere was performed by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and thermogravimery methods, respectively. The possibility of participation of Cr-doped strontium titanate in oxidation-reduction processes was analysed by temperature-programed reduction (TPR) and temperature-programed oxidation (TPOx) measurements. The changes of lattice parameters together with XPS analysis, the Seebeck coefficient measurements results and TPR profiles obtained for SrTi1−xCrxO3 materials prove the presence of chromium on +3 and +6 oxidation stages. Thus, chromium can be treated as both acceptor- and donor-type dopant in the SrTiO3 structure. The Cr3+/Cr6+ ratio strongly affects the electrical properties, as the change of conduction mechanism was observed. The results of performed stability test clearly indicate that incorporation of chromium into SrTiO3 structure results with decrease of chemical stability in CO2 atmosphere.