Electronic conductivity measurement of yttria-stabilized zirconia solid electrolytes by a transient technique

A new oxygen permeation technique is developed to measure the electronic conductivity of yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ). The permeation cell is a YSZ disc with an embedded Pt probe and a cavity at the center. Two porous platinum electrodes are applied on the disc surfaces. By applying a small DC bias (0.03 V) across one surface electrode and the embedded probe, oxygen is pumped into the YSZ disc and stored in the cavity. In steady state, a stable Nernst potential is developed between the cavity and the outer surfaces. The Nernst voltage is very close to the applied voltage since YSZ is essentially an ionic conductor. When the DC bias is removed, oxygen permeates out of the cavity leading to a decay of the Nernst potential. Electronic conductivity of YSZ corresponding to the ambient oxygen pressure (∼0.21 atm) is determined by analyzing the time dependence of the decay of Nernst potential. The measured electronic conductivity is in good agreement with values reported in the literature.