Comparative Study of Structural and Ionic Properties of Doped Zirconia Electrolytes for Solid Oxide Fuel Cells

Abstract

The current study looks at yttria and scandia doped zirconia electrolytes for application in solid oxide fuel cells. Samples with (i) 10 mol% yttria, (ii) 5 mol% yttria and 5 mol% scandia, and (iii) 10 mol% scandia in zirconia host lattice were prepared by mixed oxide method and were sintered by conventional heating at 1400°C for six hours. The samples were then analysed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) for structural and microstructural studies. The conductivity study was done using impedance spectroscopy. It was found that sinterability of 10 mol% scandia in zirconia (10ScSZ) is highest and of 10 mol% yttria in zirconia (10YSZ) is less. Also the sample with highest scandia content was found to be having highest conductivity. Activation energies for these samples have also been calculated from their Arrhenius plots drawn between room temperature to 500°C.

Keywords: Electrolyte, stabilized zirconia, XRD, SEM, electrical conductivity

Cite this Article

Kanchan L. Singh, Payal Sharma, Anirudh P. Singh et al. Comparative Study of Structural and Ionic Properties of Doped Zirconia Electrolytes for Solid Oxide Fuel Cells. Research & Reviews: Journal of Physics. 2018; 7(2): 1–7p.