Synthesis and characterization of (Gd, Nd) co-doped ceramic materials (Gd0.1NdxCe0.9-xO2-δ x = 0.05, 0.10, 0.15) via polyol method using different hydrolysis ratios

Abstract

Gd_0.1Nd_xCe_0.9-xO_2-δ x = 0.05, 0.10, 0.15 co-doped electrolytes were prepared using the polyol process with the hydrolysis ratio h = 10, 20 and 50. The effects of the metal concentration and hydrolysis ratio on the powders’ purity and the crystallographic properties are examined with XRD. The morphology of the samples was analyzed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and the density of the pellets was calculated using the Archimedes method. The SEM images show uniform isotropic morphologies with average grain sizes between 1 and 3 µm. Furthermore, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy was utilized to measure the ionic conductivity properties of the electrolytes. The GNDC5-10 sample exhibited the highest ionic conductivity and relative density of 4.86 × 10⁻² S.cm⁻¹ and 92.7%, respectively, and the lowest activation energy of 0.645 eV.