Preparation of samaria-doped ceria for solid-oxide fuel cell electrolyte by a modified sol-gel method

Samaria-doped ceria powders were prepared by the sol-gel method with different processes. The characteristics of the sample were investigated by particle size distribution, X-ray diffraction, crystallite size, and density analyses. A modified process of the sol-gel method was proposed in this work. It involves treating the gel with high-carbon (long chain, high boiling point) alcohol. It yields near-completely soft-agglomerated nanocrystalline powders which are easily sintered in air to yield near-fully relative density at 1300°C, which is significantly lower than temperatures of 1400–1500°C required by the doped-ceria powder prepared via the previous processes of the sol-gel method.