In order to clarify the mechanism of cation diffusion in stabilized zirconia, the diffusion of all stable lanthanides was measured simultaneously in material stabilised with scandia, yttria or calcia. It was possible to identify all of the lanthanides using secondary ion mass spectrometry, and to obtain bulk diffusion coefficients between 1400 and 2000K from secondary ion mass spectrometry depth profiles. For calcia- and yttria-stabilised samples, the lanthanide bulk diffusivities increased with increasing lanthanide ionic radius while, for scandia-stabilised material, they were almost independent of radius. The experimental activation enthalpies and pre-exponential factors were highest for the 2-valent calcia-stabilised samples and lower for the 3-valent systems. They were not strongly affected by the type of lanthanide in any of the investigated systems.

Correlation between Ionic Radius and Cation Diffusion in Stabilised Zirconia. M.A.Taylor, C.Argirusis, M.Kilo, G.Borchardt, K.D.Luther, W.Assmus: Solid State Ionics, 2004, 173[1-4], 51-6