Effect of the Composition of the Ceramics (MCeMgSr)O2-δ (M = Y, Sm) on the Microstructure, Mechanical and Electrical Properties for Solid Electrolyte

Abstract

The samples of ceramics (Y,Ce,Mg,Sr)O2-δ; 10YCe3Mg5Sr; 10SmCe3Mg5Sr were obtained by the method of standard solid-state reaction. According to X-ray analysis, all systems have the fluorite cubic structure, but in the (Y,Ce,Mg,Sr)O2-δ system, the presence of the second orthorhombic phase was observed. The microstructure of powders and synthesized tablets were characterized by electron-microscopy. The average particle size of the powder was shown to be 23.88 nm; 22.32 nm; and 13.4 nm for the compositions (Y,Ce,Mg,Sr)O2-δ; 10YCe3Mg5Sr; and 10SmCe3Mg5Sr, respectively. After the sintering at temperature 1450 °C; the grain size increased to 5.1 μm; 3.95 μm; 5.07 μm for (Y,Ce,Mg,Sr)O2-δ; 10YCe5Mg5Sr; and 10SmCe5Mg5Sr, respectively. The ionic conduction of the obtained samples was defined by ac impedance spectroscopy. The activation energy was then calculated. The 10SmCe5Mg5Sr system was found to have the highest electrical conductivity, reaching 20.5 mS/cm at a temperature of 700 °C. The activation energy was 0.62 eV in the temperature range of 600–800 °C. The results of the density, microhardness, and crack resistance measurements of the solid solutions under investigation were obtained.