Effect of sintering aids on the electrical properties of Ce0.9Nd0.1O2-delta

The effect of small addition of different sintering aids (MoO3 and WO3) on the electrical properties of Ce0.9Nd0.1O2-delta has been investigated. The (Ce0.9Nd0.1)(1-x)MxO2-delta (x = 0.0; M = Mo, W, x = 0.01; Ce0.9Nd0.1O2-delta: NDC, (Ce0.9Nd0.1)(0.99)Mo0.01O2-delta: NDCMo; (Ce0.9Nd0.1)(0.99)W0.01O2-delta: NDCW) solid solutions were prepared and characterized. The X-ray diffraction patterns indicate that all the samples are single phases with a cubic fluorite structure. Moreover, from the field-emission scanning electron microscopy results, it is found (Ce0.9Nd0.1)(0.99)M0.01O2-delta (M = Mo, W) sintered at 1300 degrees C for 15 h have better sinterability than Ce0.9Nd0.1O2-delta. The total conductivity (sigma(t)) by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy are ranked as: NDCW (sigma(700 degrees C)(t-NDCW) = 0.039 S cm(-1)) > NDCMo (sigma(700 degrees C)(t-NDCMo) = 0.029 S cm(-1)) > NDC (sigma(700 degrees C)(t-NDC) = 0.018 S cm(-1)) measured at 700 degrees C, which is attributed to microstructures. It can be concluded that MoO3 and WO3 are both effective and WO3 seems to be more potential as sintering aids on the optimization of electrical properties for ceria-based electrolytes. (C) 2012 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved