Effect of co-dopant addition on properties of gadolinia-doped ceria electrolyte

Various trivalent oxides were added as co-dopants to gadolinia-doped ceria (GDC) electrolyte used for solid oxide fuel cells at up to 5 mol%. An examination was made on how they affect the electrical conductivity of the electrolyte and, eventually, the open-circuit voltage (OCV) of a unit cell. Through a comparison of the thermal expansion coefficients (TEC), it was investigated whether or not the co-doped electrolytes are thermomechanically compatible with other cell components. The addition of co-dopants generally improve the electrical properties of the electrolyte by yielding greater OCV values and not changing the TEC significantly (5% at most), except in the case of Pr. Among the electrolytes examined, the one co-doped with Sm (3 mol%) shows the best improvement in performance.