Influence of sintering additives of transition metals on the properties of gadolinium-doped barium cerate

Abstract

In the present work the effect of MOx (where M =Cu, Ni, Zn, Fe, Co, Ti) addition on the densification behavior and electrical conductivity of BaCe(0.9)d(0.1)O(3-delta) ceramics is investigated. It was found that the small addition of these sintering additives (1 mol% in the B position) reduces both calcination and sintering temperature by similar to 250 degrees C and similar to 150 degrees C, respectively, promoting simultaneously the densification process. The relative density of the doped samples is similar to 95% in the case of Cu, Ni and Co, similar to 91% in the case of Zn, Ti and Fe, while in the case of BaCe0.9Gd0.1O3-delta it corresponds to similar to 86%. The electrical conductivity of the BaCe0.89Gd0.1M0.01O3-delta samples sintered at 1450 degrees C is comparable to the one of BaCe0.9Gd0.1O3-delta, sintered at 1600 degrees C, both in oxidizing and reducing atmospheres. Among them, the Cu- and Zn-containing samples attain significantly higher values of conductivity. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.