Inhibition of secondary phase formation with orientation-controlled SrTiO3 nanoparticles

Abstract Strontium titanate (SrTiO3) based materials have attracted much attention in the field of solid oxide fuel cell owing to their stable chemical and physical properties. However, second phase formation on the Sr-rich (100) surface plane may lower its electrical conductivity. To overcome the problem of phase instability, this study demonstrated the synthesis of SrTiO3 powders using spray pyrolysis with additive of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) which modifies the surface orientation. The phase information, particle morphologies of the powders were examined while the atomic compositions and relative densities of the pellets were characterized. Finally, the results indicate that the addition of H2O2 inhibits the formation of second phase which leads to higher relative density after annealed.