Effects of Grain Boundary Decoration on the Electrical Conduction of Nanocrystalline CeO2

In this study, we investigate the effect of decorating the grain boundaries of nanocrystalline undoped ceria on the electrical transport properties. For the decoration, different acceptors (Yb, Y, Bi) were chosen. On decoration, the conduction switches from electronic to ionic. Upon sintering the gr...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of the Electrochemical Society 2012-01, Vol.159 (4), p.B417-B425
Main Authors: Lupetin, Piero, Giannici, Francesco, Gregori, Giuliano, Martorana, Antonino, Maier, Joachim
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:In this study, we investigate the effect of decorating the grain boundaries of nanocrystalline undoped ceria on the electrical transport properties. For the decoration, different acceptors (Yb, Y, Bi) were chosen. On decoration, the conduction switches from electronic to ionic. Upon sintering the grains are characterized by a core-shell configuration, in which the core remains undoped while the shell is heavily doped as a consequence of the diffusion of the acceptors toward the grain interior. The shell dominates the overall transport properties of the nanocrystalline ceria and is found to be in the mesoscopic regime.
ISSN:0013-4651
DOI:10.1149/2.064204jes