Development of Sr, Y, and Zn co-doped Ba0.3Ce0.7Zr0.1O3δ dense electrolyte for intermediate temperature solid oxide fuel cell

Polycrystalline perovskite-type Ba0.3Sr0.7Ce0.7Zr0.1Y0.15Zn0.05O3-δ was synthesized and characterized by modifying two fundamental perovskites of BaCeO3 and BaZrO3. Solid state reaction (SSR) method was adopted for synthesizing the material. The traditional techniques such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and electron impedance spectroscopy (EIS) were employed for the characterization. XRD analysis revealed its pure phase with cubic symmetry at 1300 oC sintering temperature. It was found to have high relative density by the Rietveld refinement process. Regarding thermal stability, it remained stable up to 800 oC. This material also posed crack-free surface. However, Ba0.3Sr0.7Ce0.7Zr0.1Y0.15Zn0.05O3-δ provided relatively low activation energy with conductivity of 1.056×10-4 Scm-1 at 700 oC in air atmosphere. Therefore, the material might be used as a promising electrolyte in intermediate temperature solid oxide fuel cell (IT-SOFC).