Sintering and EMF studies of yttria stabilized zirconia powder synthesized by novel gel combustion method

Yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ) solid electrolyte having high-density with fine-grained microstructure is a candidate material for various applications such as oxygen sensors, fuel cells and catalytic membrane because of its excellent oxide ion conduction and mechanical properties at elevated temperatures. As the powders prepared through conventional ceramic method are of large particle size, inhomogeneous composition hence the materials prepared by these powders are of poor mechanical strength, hence in recent years, many soft chemical routes are being pursued to prepare ceramic materials to achieve the desired properties. Among the various soft chemistry methods reported, combustion synthesis has attracted attention as it is simple, versatile, cost effective and a low temperature preparative technique. In the present work a modified Pechini process has been used for synthesizing ZrO2-5 mol% Y2O3. YSZ of this composition is chosen because of its excellent mechanical strength and thermal shock resistance of the formed products