Enhanced ionic transport in fine-grained scandia-stabilized zirconia ceramics

P.M. ABDALA; G.S. CUSTO; D.G. LAMAS

JOURNAL OF POWER SOURCES

ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV

Año: 2010 vol. 195 p. 3402 - 3406

0378-7753

In this work, the transport properties of fine-grained scandia-stabilized zirconia ceramics with low Si content have been investigated. These materials were prepared from ZrO2–6 mol% Sc2O3 nanopowders synthesized by a nitrate-lysine gel-combustion route. High relative densities and excellent electrical properties were obtained, even for sintering temperatures as low as 1350°C. Our electrochemical impedance spectroscopy study showed that both the volume fraction of grain boundaries and the specific grain-boundary conductivity are significantly enhanced with decreasing grain size, resulting in a higher total ionic conductivity.