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

Journal Article · Sat Feb 28 00:00:00 EST 2009 · Journal of Materials Science

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-009-3269-2· OSTI ID:958478

Wang, Yiguang ^[1]; An, Linan ^[2]; Saraf, Laxmikant V. ^[3]; Wang, Chong M. ^[3]; Shutthanandan, V. ^[3]; Mccready, David E. ^[3]; Thevuthasan, Suntharampillai ^[3]

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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 Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States). Environmental Molecular Sciences Lab. (EMSL)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-76RL01830
• OSTI ID: 958478
• Report Number(s): PNNL-SA-64042; JMTSAS; 24802; KP1504020; TRN: US201002%%50
• Journal Information: Journal of Materials Science, Vol. 44, Issue 8; ISSN 0022-2461
• Publisher: Springer
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

37 INORGANIC
ORGANIC
PHYSICAL AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
CERIUM OXIDES
ZIRCONIUM OXIDES
GADOLINIUM
DOPED MATERIALS
MICROSTRUCTURE
IONIC CONDUCTIVITY
THIN FILMS
Multilayer thin films
ZrO2
CeO2
Sputter deposition
Ionic conductivity
Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory