{"title":"Study of the Structure, Microstructure, and Electrical Properties of Defect-Induced Ce-Doped SrTiO3 as Solid Electrolyte in IT-SOFC Application","authors":"Vedika Yadav, Upendra Kumar","doi":"10.1007/s11664-024-11392-3","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p>Ionic conductors with the composition SrTi<sub>1−<i>x</i></sub>Ce<sub><i>x</i></sub>O<sub>3</sub> (<i>x</i> = 0, 0.02, and 0.04) were synthesized by a high-temperature conventional ceramic route, and their electrical properties were analyzed for use as solid electrolytes in intermediate-temperature solid oxide fuel cells (IT-SOFCs). Scanning electron microscopy/energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDX) was used to analyze the compositional homogeneity and morphology of the samples. The phase analysis was performed using X-ray diffraction (XRD), followed by Rietveld refinement, confirming the cubic crystal structure under the space group <span>\\(Pm\\overline{3 }m\\)</span>. The bands at 462 cm<sup>−1</sup> and 449 cm<sup>−1</sup> in the Raman spectrum confirmed the incorporation of Ce at the Ti-site of SrTiO<sub>3</sub>. The presence of a negative charge was found from zeta potential analysis, supporting the presence of Ce<sup>3+</sup> at the Ce<sup>4+</sup>site, denoted by <span>\\(C{e}_{C{e}^{4+}}^{3+}{^\\prime}\\)</span>, and Ti<sup>3+</sup> at the Ti<sup>4+</sup> site, denoted by <span>\\(T{i}_{T{i}^{4+}}^{3+}{^\\prime}\\)</span>, in X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis. The total conductivity of samples showed thermal-dependent Arrhenius behavior with two different activation energy values. The activation energy <span>\\(\\ge 1 \\text{eV}\\)</span> in high-temperature regions indicated the migration of doubly ionized oxygen vacancy and <span>\\(\\le 0.50 \\text{eV}\\)</span> reflecting the migration of electrons between the degenerate sites of Ti<sup>4+</sup>/Ce<sup>4+</sup>. The impedance spectroscopy studies suggested the presence of bulk contribution in the electrical properties, and similar charge carriers were responsible for both processes. The impact of oxygen vacancy on electrical conduction was also supported by the magnetic properties, which displayed diamagnetic to paramagnetic phase transition with Ce doping. The highest value of total conductivity was obtained around 0.003 S cm<sup>−1</sup> at 610°C, making it a potential candidate for solid electrolytes in IT-SOFC applications.</p>","PeriodicalId":626,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Electronic Materials","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.2000,"publicationDate":"2024-09-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of Electronic Materials","FirstCategoryId":"5","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s11664-024-11392-3","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"ENGINEERING, ELECTRICAL & ELECTRONIC","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Ionic conductors with the composition SrTi1−xCexO3 (x = 0, 0.02, and 0.04) were synthesized by a high-temperature conventional ceramic route, and their electrical properties were analyzed for use as solid electrolytes in intermediate-temperature solid oxide fuel cells (IT-SOFCs). Scanning electron microscopy/energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDX) was used to analyze the compositional homogeneity and morphology of the samples. The phase analysis was performed using X-ray diffraction (XRD), followed by Rietveld refinement, confirming the cubic crystal structure under the space group \(Pm\overline{3 }m\). The bands at 462 cm−1 and 449 cm−1 in the Raman spectrum confirmed the incorporation of Ce at the Ti-site of SrTiO3. The presence of a negative charge was found from zeta potential analysis, supporting the presence of Ce3+ at the Ce4+site, denoted by \(C{e}_{C{e}^{4+}}^{3+}{^\prime}\), and Ti3+ at the Ti4+ site, denoted by \(T{i}_{T{i}^{4+}}^{3+}{^\prime}\), in X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis. The total conductivity of samples showed thermal-dependent Arrhenius behavior with two different activation energy values. The activation energy \(\ge 1 \text{eV}\) in high-temperature regions indicated the migration of doubly ionized oxygen vacancy and \(\le 0.50 \text{eV}\) reflecting the migration of electrons between the degenerate sites of Ti4+/Ce4+. The impedance spectroscopy studies suggested the presence of bulk contribution in the electrical properties, and similar charge carriers were responsible for both processes. The impact of oxygen vacancy on electrical conduction was also supported by the magnetic properties, which displayed diamagnetic to paramagnetic phase transition with Ce doping. The highest value of total conductivity was obtained around 0.003 S cm−1 at 610°C, making it a potential candidate for solid electrolytes in IT-SOFC applications.
期刊介绍:
The Journal of Electronic Materials (JEM) reports monthly on the science and technology of electronic materials, while examining new applications for semiconductors, magnetic alloys, dielectrics, nanoscale materials, and photonic materials. The journal welcomes articles on methods for preparing and evaluating the chemical, physical, electronic, and optical properties of these materials. Specific areas of interest are materials for state-of-the-art transistors, nanotechnology, electronic packaging, detectors, emitters, metallization, superconductivity, and energy applications.
Review papers on current topics enable individuals in the field of electronics to keep abreast of activities in areas peripheral to their own. JEM also selects papers from conferences such as the Electronic Materials Conference, the U.S. Workshop on the Physics and Chemistry of II-VI Materials, and the International Conference on Thermoelectrics. It benefits both specialists and non-specialists in the electronic materials field.
A journal of The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society.