Electrical conductivity of zirconia and yttrium-doped zirconia from Indonesian local zircon as prospective material for fuel cells

In this research, zirconium dioxide, ZrO2, was synthesized from high-grade zircon sand that was founded from Bangka Island, Sumatra, Indonesia. The zircon sand is a side product of Tin mining plant industry. The synthesis was conducted by caustic fusion method with considering definite stoichiometric mole at every reaction step. Yttrium has been doped into the prepared zirconia by solid state reaction. The prepared materials were then being analyzed by X-ray diffraction equipped with Le Bail refinement to study its crystal structure and cell parameters. Electrical conductivity was studied through impedance measurement at a frequency range of 20 Hz-5 MHz. Morphological analysis was conducted through Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) equipped with Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDX) for elemental analysis. The results show that the prepared yttrium stabilized zirconia, YSZ, was crystallized in the cubic structure with a space group of P42/NMC. The sintered zirconia and yttrium stabilized zirconia at 8 mol% of yttrium ions (8YSZ) show dense surface morphology with a grain size less than 10 mu m. Elemental analysis on the sintered zirconia and 8YSZ show that sintering at 1500 degrees C could eliminate the impurities, and the purity became 81.30%. Impedance analysis shows that ZrO2 provide grain and grain boundary conductivity meanwhile 8YSZ only provide grain mechanism. The yttrium doping enhanced the conductivity up to 1.5 orders. The ionic conductivity of the prepared 8YSZ is categorized as a good material with conductivity reach 7.01. 10(-3) at 700 degrees C. The ionic conductivities are still lower than commercial 8YSZ at various temperature. It indicates that purity of raw material might significantly contribute to the electrical conductivity.