Series of Sm1-xFe1-3xZr3xO3 (SFZO, where x = 0.0, 0.01, 0.02, 0.033, 0.05,
0.1 and 0.15), was synthesised by the solid state reaction method and
sintered at 1500?C in air. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron
microscopy (SEM) were used to investigate the structure of the materials.
The XRD results indicated that the pure SmFeO3 and Sm0.99Fe0.97Zr0.03O3
samples are single phase materials with an orthorhombic symmetry and Pbnm
space group. The increase of Zr content (x ? 0.02) causes a phase change
from single to twophase system with orthorhombic (Pbnm) and fluorite
symmetry (Fm?3m). The microstructural analyses showed that the Zr4+ doping
resulted in an increase of porosity in the sintered SFZO compared to SmFeO3
sample. The direct current (DC) electrical conductivity at 850?C in air was
found to be 0.045 S/cm and 0.007 S/cm for Sm0.99Fe0.97Zr0.03O3 and SmFeO3,
respectively, showing a significant enhancement compared to the pure SmFeO3.