Influence of sintering additives of transition metals on the properties of gadolinium-doped barium cerate

In the present work the effect of MOx (where M = Cu, Ni, Zn, Fe, Co, Ti) addition on the densification behavior and electrical conductivity of BaCe0.9Gd0.1O3 − δ ceramics is investigated. It was found that the small addition of these sintering additives (1 mol% in the B position) reduces both calcination and sintering temperature by ~ 250 °С and ~ 150 °С, respectively, promoting simultaneously the densification process. The relative density of the doped samples is ~ 95% in the case of Cu, Ni and Co, ~ 91% in the case of Zn, Ti and Fe, while in the case of BaCe0.9Gd0.1O3 − δ it corresponds to ~ 86%. The electrical conductivity of the BaCe0.89Gd0.1M0.01O3 − δ samples sintered at 1450 °С is comparable to the one of BaCe0.9Gd0.1O3 − δ, sintered at 1600 °С, both in oxidizing and reducing atmospheres. Among them, the Cu- and Zn-containing samples attain significantly higher values of conductivity.