Spark plasma sintering of nanopowders in the CeO2-Y2O3 system as a promising approach to the creation of nanocrystalline intermediate-temperature solid electrolytes

Abstract Using (СeO 2 ) 1-x (Y 2 O 3 ) x (x = 0.10, 0.15 and 0.20) nanopowders obtained by co-precipitation of metal hydroxides with elements of cryotechnology, and consolidated using the SPS method, intermediate-temperature solid electrolytes with an appropriate composition were obtained; (the average size of CSR was 48–62 nm, ρ rel – 83–93%). The dependence of the phase composition, microstructure and electrotransport properties of the samples obtained on Y 2 O 3 content and consolidation conditions was established. It was shown that the solid solution (CeO 2 ) 0.90 (Y 2 O 3 ) 0.10 had the highest ionic conductivity, at 550 °C, in the СeO 2 –Y 2 O 3 system. It was established that SPS is a more efficient method of obtaining nanocrystalline solid electrolytes for IT-SOFCs, in comparison with conventional approaches.