Structural and dielectric properties of Y3+ doped SrTiO3: a novel anode materials for solid oxide fuel cell

An ongoing and elusive task is to create single phase anode materials for solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC). Compared to the typical Ni-YSZ cermet anode, perovskite oxide based anode material has a number of benefits. Here, we present the structural and electrical characteristics of Y3+ doped SrTiO3 ceramics that are used as the anode in solid oxide fuel cells. The samples with nominal composition x = 0 and 0.05 were synthesized by high energy ball milling. The powder X-ray diffraction pattern reveals that the synthesized samples crystallize into cubic crystal structure with space group Pm3m for both the compositions. The samples were sintered at a temperature of 1300 degrees C for 6h. The sintered density of the samples was found to be greater than 97%. The temperature dependent dielectric measurement studies reveal that dielectric constant increases with yttrium doping and shows relaxer behavior. A higher dielectric constant and electrical conductivity was observed for the Y-doped sample which fulfill the basic requirement for anode materials of solid oxide fuel cells.