Synthesis and characterization of Ce0.8Sm0.2O1.9 nanopowders using an acrylamide polymerization process

Ce0.8Sm0.2O1.9 (SDC) nanopowders were synthesized by an acrylamide polymerization process. The XRD results showed that SDC powders prepared at 700 °C possessed a cubic fluorite structure. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) indicated that the particle sizes of powders were in the range of 10–15 nm. A 98.3% of theoretical density was obtained when the SDC pellets were sintered at 1350 °C for 5 h, indicating that the powders had good sinterability. The conductivity of the sintered SDC ceramics was 0.019 S/cm at 600 °C and the activation energy was only 0.697 eV. Furthermore, a unit cell was fabricated from the powders and the maximum power density of 0.169 W/cm2 was achieved at 700 °C with humidified hydrogen as the fuel and air as the oxidant.