Liquid-Phase Synthesis and Physical and Chemical Properties of Ceramic Electrolyte Nanomaterials in the CeO2–Sm2O3 System for Solid Oxide Fuel Cells

Abstract: By the method of joint crystallization of solutions of nitrate salts, the highly dispersed powders of the composition (CeO2)0.98(Sm2O3)0.02, (CeO2)0.95(Sm2O3)0.05, and (CeO2)0.90(Sm2O3)0.10 are synthesized, and on their basis, nanoceramic materials with a crystalline cubic structure of fluorite type are obtained, with the grain size of the crystallites of ~68–81 nm (1300°С). Their mechanical and electrophysical properties are studied; it is found that they have an open porosity of 2–6% and predominantly ionic (ti = 0.82–0.71 in the range of 300–700°C) type of electrical conductivity due to the formation of mobile oxygen vacancies during the heterovalent replacement of Се4+ with Sm3+, σ700°C =1.3 × 10–2 S/cm. The studies show the prospects of using the obtained ceramic materials as solid oxide electrolytes of intermediate-temperature fuel cells. © 2020, Pleiades Publishing, Ltd.