Issue 23, 2015

Thermal evolution of the crystal structure of proton conducting BaCe0.8Y0.2O3−δ from high-resolution neutron diffraction in dry and humid atmosphere

Abstract

The crystal structure of the proton conducting perovskite BaCe0.8Y0.2O3−δ (BCY20) has been studied via high-resolution in situ neutron diffraction performed in controlled dry and humid (heavy water) oxygen flow. Two phase transitions, cubic Pm[3 with combining macron]mR[3 with combining macron]c (775 °C)→Imma (250 °C) were observed on cooling from 1000 °C in dry O2. A significant shift of the phase stability fields was observed on cooling in wet oxygen (pD2O ≈ 0.2 atm) with the R[3 with combining macron]c structure stabilised at 900 °C, and the R[3 with combining macron]cImma transition occurring at 675 °C. On cooling below 400 °C a monoclinic, I2/m, phase started to appear. The structural dependence on hydration level is primarily due to the de-stabilisation of the correlated, octahedra tilts as a consequence of structural relaxation around the oxygen vacancies present in the non-hydrated phase. The tendency of hydrated BaCe0.8Y0.2O3−δ to show octahedral tilting is also found to be enhanced, indicating that the deuteronic (protonic) defects influence the crystal structure, possibly via hydrogen bonding. Stabilisation of the monoclinic I2/m phase is attributed to the structural effect of deuterons that is inferred to increase on cooling as deuterons localise to a greater extent. Changing from wet oxidising (O2 + D2O(g)) to wet reducing (5% H2 in Ar + D2O(g)) atmosphere did not influence the structure or the phase stability, indicating that Ce4+ was not reduced under the present conditions. Based on the observed cell volume expansion protonic defects are present in the material at 900 °C at a D2O partial pressure of ∼0.2 atm. The origin of the chemical expansion is explained by the effective size of the oxygen vacancy being significantly smaller than the [OD] defect. Rietveld analysis has been used to locate possible sites for the deuterons in the high temperature, R[3 with combining macron]c and Imma, phases that are most relevant for proton transport.

Graphical abstract: Thermal evolution of the crystal structure of proton conducting BaCe0.8Y0.2O3−δ from high-resolution neutron diffraction in dry and humid atmosphere

  • This article is part of the themed collection: Perovskites

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
20 Dec 2014
Accepted
14 Mar 2015
First published
16 Mar 2015
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY-NC license

Dalton Trans., 2015,44, 10834-10846

Author version available

Thermal evolution of the crystal structure of proton conducting BaCe0.8Y0.2O3−δ from high-resolution neutron diffraction in dry and humid atmosphere

A. K. Eriksson Andersson, S. M. Selbach, T. Grande and C. S. Knee, Dalton Trans., 2015, 44, 10834 DOI: 10.1039/C4DT03948C

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