Conductivities and Stabilities of Pr-Doped Ceria-Based Electrolytes for IT-SOFCs
Doped ceria has been considered one of the most promissing materials as the oxide-conducting electrolytes for intermediate temperature solid oxide fuel cells (IT-SOFCs). However, the decrease in open circuit voltage at high temperatures and under reducing atmosphere due to the electronic conductivity of ceria is the main draw-back of these materials for their applications as the solid electrolyte for IT-SOFC. In the present study, Pr-doped ceria (xCPO) materials with x representing the Pr/(Ce+Pr) atomic ratio in 5-35% were prepared by Pechini method (sol-gel). The resulting powders were calcined at 700oC for 4h and the pressed pellets were sintered at 1500oC for 14 h, both in air. The conductivities and stabilities of Pr-doped ceria pellets were determined under various gaseous environments at 700oC. Among the doped samples, 30CPO with the formula Ce0.7Pr0.3O2-a gave the highest conductivity of 0.0668 S/cm. It was also found that the addition of praseodymium in ceria could lower the electronic conductivity under reducing atmosphere. The electronic conductivities of xCPO materials decreased with the increase in Pr content, and the 25CPO sample showed nearly equal conductivities under air and in 10% H2/N2. Furthermore, it was found that co-doping a small amount of Mg2+ in CPO materials could not only enhance the ionic conductivity, but also stabilize the conductivity under reducing atmosphere.