Study on properties of the single-phase cubic Ce_0.5Zr_0.5O₂solid solution

Abstract

Using nanoparticles of CeO 2 and ZrO 2 prepared by a chemical precipitation method as starting materials, single-phase cubic Ce 0.5 Zr 0.5 O 2 solid solution (c-Ce 0.5 Zr 0.5 O 2 ) has been synthesized under 3.1 GPa at 1073 K for the first time. The EPR and XPS measurements show that there exists no Ce 3+ in it and that the Ce 4+ has not been reduced to Ce 3+ after annealing. The transport mechanism is ionic for the c-Ce 0.5 Zr 0.5 O 2 . The bulk conductivity is the same as that of CeO 2 , but smaller than that of Y 2 O 3 -stabilized ZrO 2 .