Thermal and Electrical Properties of Proton- Conducting Composite Ceramics Based on Al- doped Barium Indate

Properties of the (1-x)Ba2In1.57Al0.43O5 center dot xBa(2)InAlO(5) composite sample (x=0.12) were studied. The composite was found to demonstrate a reversible water uptake at temperatures below 800(degrees)C in wet atmosphere; it leads to proton defects formation in the structures of the phases included the composite. The hydration process is accompanied by a significant increase in the total electrical conductivity due to the appearance of a proton transfer contribution. The sample is predominantly a proton conductor at temperatures below 500 C-degrees in wet air. When the composite ceramics treated above the eutectic temperature of the Ba2In1.57Al0.43O5 - Ba2InAlO5 system, the total electrical conductivity increases compared to the conductivity of the initial phases; composite effect is related to formation of a special microstructure of the sample.