Determination of niobium diffusion in titania and zirconia using secondary ion mass spectrometry

This paper provides an outline for the use of secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) in the determination of diffusion data in metal oxides. The focus is on the determination of Nb bulk and grain boundary diffusion coefficients in TiO2 and zirconia. Specifically, the diffusion of Nb in TiO2 and yttria doped (10 mol.-%) ZrO2 (10YSZ) has been assessed. The following bulk diffusion coefficients D 93Nb were obtained\n\nD 93Nb =(1·03±0·051) × 10−18 m2 s−1 10YSZ(1273K)\n\nD 93Nb =(1·91±0·096) × 10−16 m2 s−1 TiO2(1273K)\n\nThe grain boundary diffusion parameter for Nb grain boundary diffusion in 10YSZ was also determined\n\nD 93Nb δα =(7·48 ± 0·37) × 10−25 m2 s−1 10YSZ(1273K)\n\nThe Nb grain boundary diffusion coefficient D′93Nb was determined to be\n\nD′93Nb =(3·99 ± 0·20) × 10−16 m2 s−1 10YSZ(1273K)© 2007 Informa UK Limited