Scandium (Sc) and yttrium (Y) co-doped ZrO2 (ScYSZ) thin films were prepared on a SiO2-Si substrate via pulsed laser deposition (PLD) method. In order to obtain good quality thin films with the desired microstructure, various oxygen partial pressures (PO2) from 0.01 Pa to 10 Pa and substrate temperatures (Ts) from 25 °C to 800 °C were investigated. X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns results showed that amorphous ScYSZ thin films were formed at room substrate temperature while cubic polycrystalline thin films were obtained at higher substrate temperatures (Ts = 200 °C, 400 °C, 600 °C, 800 °C). Raman spectra revealed a distinct Raman shift at around 600 cm−1 supporting a cubic phase. However, a transition from cubic to tetragonal phase can be observed with increasing oxygen partial pressure. Photoemission spectroscopy (PES) spectra suggested supporting analysis that more oxygen vacancies in the lattice can be observed for samples deposited at lower oxygen partial pressures resulting in a cubic structure with higher dopant cation binding energies as compared to the tetragonal structure observed at higher oxygen partial pressure. On the other hand, dense morphologies can be obtained at lower PO2 (0.01 Pa and 0.1 Pa) while more porous morphologies can be obtained at higher PO2 (1.0 Pa and 10 Pa).
Solid oxide electrolysis cell (SOEC) is a highly efficient and environmentally friendly technology for future hydrogen generation. In this study, electrolyte-supported SOEC single cell was fabricated via a simple and facile drop-coating technique. Thin film electrodes of nickel oxide/yttria stabilized zirconia (NiO-YSZ) cathode and strontium-doped lanthanum manganite/ytrria-stabilized zirconia (LSM-YSZ) anode were deposited onto yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) solid electrolyte substrate. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with energy dispersive analysis (EDS) was used to study the microstructural properties of the heat-treated samples and revealed a successful thin film deposition of porous electrodes onto the dense YSZ substrate. XRD patterns showed the desired crystal structure of the deposited electrode thin films. Distinct phases of cubic YSZ and monoclinic LSM were observed for the LSM-YSZ anode while cubic NiO and YSZ phases were observed for the deposited cathode. Electrochemical conductivity of the cell was investigated using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy analysis (EIS) which revealed a total conductivity of about 2.0 mS/cm at 700 °C.
Solid oxide electrolysis cell (SOEC) and solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) have been receiving significant attention for future energy storage and hydrogen production applications. This research focuses on the electrolyte material which can be used for both SOEC and SOFC particularly on 8 mol% yttria-stabilized zirconia (8YSZ) electrolyte material. YSZ has been used because of its high stability at elevated temperature, excellent mechanical and chemical properties and its excellent oxygen ion conductivity. This study aims to determine the effect of precursor’s grain size and sintering temperature on the properties of YSZ as electrolyte material for SOEC. Solid-state sintering was done to transform the ceramic powders into solid compacts. Pure cubic fluorite structure YSZ was achieved by both micrograined and nanograined YSZ sintered at 1200°C and 1500°C. It was observed that the micrograined YSZ sample sintered at 1500°C achieved the highest relative density at 99.48%. SEM images showed a smooth and compact microstructure for micrograined YSZ while small pores were still present in the micrographs of nanograined YSZ. However, interestingly, the nanograined YSZ has higher total conductivity as compared to the micrograined YSZ.
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