SPECTROSCOPY AND THERMODYNAMICS OF ELECTRONS IN YTTRIA-STABILIZED ZIRCONIA

Electronic energy gap, position of Fermi level in the gap and the density of states in the valence band range have been measured for Y2O3-stabilized cubic ZrO2 as function of oxygen partial pressure and temperature using UV-Photoelectron-Spectroscopy (UPS) and Electron-Energy-Loss-Spectroscopy (EELS). A thermodynamic evaluation for the position of the Fermi energy gives the scale of electrode potentials for oxygen electrodes on stabilized zirconia with regard to the band scheme. The data arc compared with further literature results from electrochemical and spectroscopic techniques and a model for the electronic band scheme of yttria-stabilized cubic zirconia is proposed. The differences of thermal and optical values for the band pp are discussed as well as the comparability of thermal and spectroscopic values for electronic energies.