IR-assisted sol-gel synthesis of Ce0.8Gd0.2O2-δ for SOFCs applications

Gadolinia-doped ceria (Ce0.8Gd0.2O2-δ, GDC) is an alternative electrolyte for intermediate temperature Solid Oxide Fuel Cells. Nanostructured materials have recently attracted extensive attention because of their high reactivity that allowed milder sintering conditions. Although several methods were proposed for the synthesis of ultrafine powders, most of them generally require a subsequent calcination step. The aim of this work was to produce ultrafine, pure GDC powders using a standard chemical route (aqueous sol-gel) coupled with non-conventional heating processes (infrared heating). Nanocrystalline non-agglomerated GDC particles were successfully produced under mild conditions (170°C, 1 h) without the intermediate decomposition and/or calcining steps. Moreover the GDC obtained through the optimization of the IRassisted sol-gel synthesis parameters exhibited values of ionic conductivity higher than the ones showed by commercial and conventional sol-gel produced powders of similar composition