Effect of Agglomeration on the Densification Properties of Sm_(0.15)Gd_(0.05)Ce_(0.8)O_(1.9) Electrolytes for Intermediate Temperature Solid Oxide Fuel Cells

By synthesizing reactive powders via a self-sustaining combustion synthesis,the EDTA- nitrate process,Sm_(0.15)Gd_(0.05)Ce_(0.8)O_(1.9)was prepared.The resultant powders were dispersed with the terpineol as the dispersant by different methods such as ball milling and high-shear dispersing.Coag- ulation factor(CF)was adopted to denote the agglomeration degree of nano-scale SGDC in this work. The effect of agglomeration on the densification behaviors at different sintering temperatures was in- vestigated.The studies indicate that agglomeration retards densification in the stage of sintering.The powders with better dispersion exhibit a higher sintered density at the same temperature.After effec- tive dispersion measures taken,SGDC can fully densified at the sintering temperature of 1300℃.The densification temperature is significantly lower than those reported previously.