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Microstructure and ionic-conductivity of alternating-multilayer structured Gd-doped ceria and zirconia thin films

Journal Article · · Journal of Materials Science
 [1];  [2];  [3];  [3];  [3];  [3];  [3]
  1. Northwestern Polytechnical Univ., Xi'an (China); Univ. of Central Florida, Orlando, FL (United States)
  2. Univ. of Central Florida, Orlando, FL (United States)
  3. Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
Multilayer thin-film of consisting of alternating Gd-doped ceria and zirconia have been grown by sputter-deposition on α-Al2O3 (0001) substrates. The films were characterized using x-ray diffraction (XRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM), x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The Gd-doped ceria and zirconia layers had the fluorite structure and are highly textured such that the (111) plane of the films parallel to the (0001) plane of the α-Al2O3. The epitaxial relationship can be written as (111)ZrO2/CeO2//(0001)Al2O3 and [11-2]ZrO2/CeO2//[-2110]Al2O3.. The absence of Ce3+ features in the XPS spectra indicates that the Gd-doped ceria films are completely oxidized. The ionic conductivity of this structure shows great improvement as compared with that of the bulk crystalline material. This research provides insight on designing of material for low-temperature electrolyte applications.
Research Organization:
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States), Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory (EMSL)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
DOE Contract Number:
AC05-76RL01830
OSTI ID:
958478
Report Number(s):
PNNL-SA--64042; 24802; KP1504020
Journal Information:
Journal of Materials Science, Journal Name: Journal of Materials Science Journal Issue: 8 Vol. 44; ISSN JMTSAS; ISSN 0022-2461
Publisher:
Springer
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English