Hydrothermally synthesized hierarchical Ce1-xSmxO2-δ oxides for additive manufacturing of planar solid electrolytes

Abstract

This paper studies the hydrothermal synthesis of Ce1-xSmxO2-δ (x = 0.20, 0.25 and 0.30) oxides in the form of hierarchically structured nanopowders (the crystallite size was 9–11 nm). The thermal behaviour of cerium and samarium hydroxocarbonates, formed as intermediate products, was studied using synchronous TGA/DSC/DTA analysis; and with the help of an X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), and infrared spectroscopy, their transformation process, which resulted in the formation of target oxides, was evaluated. It was shown that an increase in the samarium concentration leads to a change in the type of microstructure from nanorods to microspheres partially or fully covered by nanosheets. The influence of the particle size and shape of the nanopowders obtained on the microstructure of the coatings (porosity, degree of roughness, and height difference), formed using microextrusion printing, were investigated by atomic force (AFM) and scanning electron (SEM) microscopy. The electrophysical properties of the oxide coating surface were evaluated using specialized semi-contact AFM techniques. The use of impedance spectroscopy made it possible to evaluate the effect of dopant concentration on the electrical conductivity of hierarchically organized solid electrolytes, and to show that microextrusion printing can be effectively used in the additive creation of planar components for alternative energy devices.