Abstract
Lanthanide Zirconates with Ln2Zr2O7 composition are of great research interest due to their multifunctional applications. We report the synthesis of LaSmZr2O7, a rarely studied compound, its structural, optical, and electrical characteristics, along with its structural evolution at different temperatures. Nanocrystalline LaSmZr2O7 powder is synthesized through an auto-ignited combustion method. The compound shows phase transition from defect fluorite to pyrochlore over an annealing temperature of 850 °C–1200 °C. It has high absorbance in the UV region, high reflectance in the visible region, and wide optical bandgap energy. The optical band gap is observed to increase with defect fluorite to the pyrochlore phase transition. A bulk LaSmZr2O7 pellet of high density is obtained at a sintering temperature of 1500 °C for a soaking time of 2 hours. Impedance spectroscopic study revealed pure oxide-ion conductivity of the compound in the 550 °C–850 °C temperature range with a conductivity value of 2.04 × 10−2 S/m at 850 °C.
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