Understanding the high ionic conductivity in nanostructured ytterbium stabilized zirconia thin films

摘要: Recently, high ionic conduction has been reported in nanostructured materials. This increase conductivity can be important technological applications, including micro-Solid Oxide Fuel Cells, so the understanding of this phenomenon is essential. In work, XRD, Raman spectroscopy, SEM, EDS maps, and UV-Visible spectroscopy measurements are used to have an insight into relationship between structural electrical properties ytterbium stabilized zirconia (YbSZ) thin films prepared by ultrasonic spray pyrolysis. allowed identification a mixture tetragonal cubic phases at 4% Yb doping, which cannot detected while compositional maps suggest that located preferentially grain boundaries. Changes activation energy values bulk boundaries related small sizes (≥10 nm). UV support nature charge transport. These results indicate consequence different physical parameters such as stress materials, crystalline phases, impurities diffusion boundaries, presence or absence electronic conduction. A model explains materials must include all these aspects.