Preparation of yttria-stabilized zirconia film from an aqueous nano-grain suspension for solid electrolyte

Abstract

Yttria-stabilized zirconia film was prepared by casting of a green-nano-grain suspension. The suspension was prepared by considering environmentally friendly of components, that is, water as solvent, α-terpineol as dispersant and glycerin as plasticizer. Addition of surfactant mixture (tween-80 and span-60) was also studied. The prepared film was characterized to understand its diffraction pattern, crystal structure, surface and cross-section morphology, thermal properties and its electrical conductivity in accordance with solid electrolyte application. Analysis found that surfactant addition allows the YSZ film to become wet soon after storing at room condition, instead of to increase quality of product. The film is in the same cubic structure with powder YSZ, as well as the space group. Vibrations at 521.77 cm−1 and 563.24 cm−1 confirm the Zr(Y)-O- vibrations. The average grain size of film is 115.84 ± 6.56 nm, larger than YSZ powder grain size of 81.57 ± 1.08 nm. Impedance measurement confirms only ionic migration to produce conductivity. The value at 800 °C is 3.90 × 10−3 S cm−1 and it could reach 2.35 × 10−2 S cm−1 at 1000 °C. It ensures reliability of the YSZ film for solid electrolyte and also provides a promising way to produce YSZ film from a green aqueous-nano-grain suspension.