Mechanical and Electrical Characterization of 8YSZ-ScCeSZ Ceramics

The effects of small amounts (up to 5 wt.%) of scandia- and ceria-stabilized zirconia on the electrical conductivity, and the elastic modulus and hardness of yttria-stabilized zirconia were investigated by impedance spectroscopy and nanoindentation tests, respectively. The main purpose of this work was to obtain solid electrolyte compounds with improved properties compared to those of the base materials. Solid electrolytes compounds were prepared by solid-state reaction synthesis with sintering at 1450 & DEG;C for 4 h. All prepared compounds exhibit a cubic fluorite-type structure. The microstructure of the compounds consists of polygonal grains with low (< 2%) porosity. The mean grain size estimated by the intercept method was 5 & PLUSMN; 1 & mu;m. The electrical conductivity of the compound ceramics is lower than that of the base material. Addition of scandia-stabilized zirconia is found to exert a beneficial effect on the matrix by increasing the elastic modulus, achieving 221 MPa for 5 wt.% of the additive.