A COMPARATIVE STUDY ON BaCe0.54Zr0.36Y0.1O2.95 CERAMICS POWDER PREPARED WITH AND WITHOUT SURFACE ACTIVE AGENT

Abstract

Perovskite-type oxide of BaCe0.54Zr0.36Y0.1O2.95 (BCZY) was prepared via a modified sol-gel method using metal nitrate salts as starting material. Citric acid (CA), ethylene glycol (EG) and polyoxyethylene (10) oleyl ether (Brij97) was used as a chelating agent, polymerization agent and surface active agent, respectively. The prepared sample was denoted as S1 (without surfactant) and S2 (Brij97). The resultant powder was characterized by the thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA), X-Ray diffractometer (XRD) and Scanning Electron Microscopy/Electron Dispersive X-Ray (SEM/EDX). TGA result showed that thermal decomposition of the dried powder (T= 325 °C) of S1 was completed at T= 800 °C and S2 at T= 720 °C. At a calcination temperature of 1100 °C, XRD analysis showed that S1 exhibits a mixture of BaCeO3 and BaZrO3 impurities, and S2 successfully formed single perovskite phase of Ba(Ce0.7Zr0.3)O3, (JCPDS Card no 089-2485). SEM micrograph revealed that S2 exhibits fewer agglomerates compared to S1. The elemental composition of both samples was not greatly deviated from their nominal stoichiometry.