Abstract
Nanocrystalline (nc) scandia-stabilized zirconia (SSZ) electrolytes with scandia contents of 5.9 to 15.9mol% were synthesized by reactive magnetron sputtering. For scandia content≥9.1mol%, the as-deposited films were pure cubic phase with <111>texture, while traces of tetragonal phase was found for lower Sc content. Single-line profile analysis of the 111X-ray diffraction peak yielded an out-of-plane grain size of ∼10nm and a microstrain of 2.0-2.2%, regardless of scandia content, for films deposited at 400°C and a bias of -70V. Films deposited at higher bias voltages showed a reduced grain size, yielding a grain size of ∼6nm and a microstrain of ∼2.5% at -200V and -250V with additional incorporation of argon. Temperature-dependent impedance spectroscopy of the SSZ films showed that the in-plane ionic conductivity had a maximum close to 10.7mol% and decreased almost an order of magnitude as the scandia - content was increased to 15.9mol%. The activation energy for oxygen ion migration was determined to be between 1.30-1.43eV. In addition, no dependence on grain size was observed. The above observations suggest a bulk mechanism for ionic conduction.
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