Electrical properties of praseodymium and samarium co-doped ceria electrolyte for low-temperature solid oxide fuel cell application

In this study, we aimed to investigate the structural, morphology and electrical properties of praseodymium and samarium co-doped ceria electrolytes, synthesized using the sol–gel method, for use as an electrolyte in low-temperature solid oxide fuel cell (LT-SOFC) applications. The X-ray diffraction result shows that all of the samples crystallized into a single-phase cubic fluorite form. The average relative densities of samples sintered at 1400°C is 97.9% of theoretical densities, indicating that they can be used as an electrolyte in LT-SOFC applications. A fascinating and maximum value of ionic conductivity $$1.94 \times 10 ^{- 2}$$ S cm–1 and least activation energy (Ea = 0.55 eV) were found for the composition Ce0.8Sm0.1Pr0.1O1.9 at a temperature of 500°C. The ionic conductivity and activation energies of compositions Ce0.85Sm0.1Pr0.05O1.925 and Ce0.9Sm0.05Pr0.05O1.95 found at 500°C were ( $$1.41 \times 10 ^{- 2}$$ S cm–1, Ea = 0.59 eV) and ( $$5.95 \times 10 ^{- 3}$$ S cm–1, Ea = 0.64 eV), respectively. Moreover, all the Praseodymium and samarium co-doped ceria (PrSDC) samples conduct at lower temperature of 300°C. All these results confirmed that praseodymium and samarium co-doped ceria can be useful as a solid electrolyte in LT-SOFC applications.