Study on Sm₂O₃ and Nd₂O₃ Co-doped ceria based electrolyte

Nano-crystalline and fluorite single-phased Ce_0.8Sm_xNd_0.2-xO_1.9 powders were prepared by low-temperature combustion process in citric-nitrate system. It is calculated from X-ray diffraction patterns that the size of the powders was between 11.7 nm and 20.1 nm. A high density ceramic can be obtained after the powders were dry pressed and sintered at 1400°C for 5 h. The SEM micrographs showed the microstructure of the ceramic was homogenous, and the grain size was between 2 μm and 4 μm. The electrical conductivity of the sample at 500°C can reach to 0.012 S/cm. It can be concluded that co-doped ceria based electrolyte possesses a higher electrical conductivity in comparison with single-doped ceria based materials.