Protonic conduction in calcium, strontium and barium zirconates

Abstract Electrical conduction in sintered oxides based on calcium, strontium or barium zirconate at high temperature was investigated electrochemically. When Zr in MZrO 3 (M=Ca, Sr or Ba) was partially replaced by trivalent element such as In, Sc, Y, etc., the resultant solid solutions exhibited protonic conduction under hydrogen-containing atmosphere at elevated temperatures. In general, the protonic conductivities of BaZrO 3 - and SrZrO 3 -based ceramics were higher than those of CaZrO 3 -based one although the values were low compared to those of SrCeO 3 or BaCeO 3 -based ceramics. Clear isotope effects in IR spectrum and conductivity were observed between protonated and deuteronated SrZr 0.95 Y 0.05 O 3−α .