Effect of the Rare Earth Oxide Impurities on the Physical and Thermal Properties of Ce_0.9Gd_0.1O_0.195 (GDC) Composite Electrolyte IT-SOFC

Abstract:

Observation on the effects of rare earth impurities on the properties of Ce_0.9Gd_0.1O_0.195 (GDC) composite electrolyte has been performed. Indonesia has abundant rare earth elements especially CeO₂, which one of the resources is from monazite mineral. In this study, the GDC powders were synthesized via solid state technique. The two types of precursors were prepared and mixed into planetary ballmill, i.e., CeO₂ (Sigma Aldrich) with Gd₂O₃ (Sigma Aldrich) and CeO₂ (non-commercial, local product) with Gd₂O₃ (Sigma Aldrich), namely GDC commercial and GDC non-commercial, respectively. The composite electrolyte powders calcined at temperature of 800°C in the air atmosphere condition. The composite electrolytes were then characterized in terms of its morphology, elemental, phase structure and thermal properties of the powders. The GDC commercial and non-commercial powders both consist of face centered cubic fluorite ceria structure which was confirmed by X-Ray Diffraction (XRD). The peaks are matching well with the cerium oxide JCPDS card No: 34-394. There are no peaks detected for the gadolinium oxide. It indicates that the dopant ion is fully substituted into the CeO₂ lattice. The elemental analysis was performed using X-ray Fluorescence (XRF). The microstructures were observed under Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). The thermal properties characterizations were performed by using Thermal Gravimetric Analysis (TGA) and Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) from room temperature to 1500°C. Both powders investigated are suitable for electrolyte IT-SOFC based on their physical and thermal characterization. Among the composite electrolytes investigated, the GDC commercial showed the better performance in terms of their physical and thermal properties.

• Periodical: Materials Science Forum (Volume 929)
• Pages: 116-120
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/MSF.929.116
• Online since: August 2018
• Authors: Jarot Raharjo*, Damisih Damisih, Masmui Masmui, Ade Utami Hapsari, Asep Riswoko, Mochamad Setyadji, Suyanti Suyanti, Maria Veronica Purwani
• Keywords: Composite Electrolyte, GDC, Natural Resources of CeO₂, Solid Oxide Fuel Cell

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