Electrical conductivity of fully densified nano CaZr0.90In0.10O3 − δ ceramics prepared by a water-based gel precipitation method

Water-based gel precipitation method was first applied to synthesize high purity nano CaZr0.90In0.10O3 − δ powders suitable for fabricating dense ceramics at lower temperature. By using CaCO3, Zr(NO3)4 and In(NO3)3 as raw materials, PEG as dispersant, CaZr0.90In0.10O3 − δ with an average particle size of about 40 nm was obtained at 850 °C, which was nearly 350 °C lower than that of traditional solid-state reaction method. Fully densified ceramics with an average grain size of 200–300 nm were obtained at 1350 °C, a temperature about 250 °C lower than that of traditional sintering techniques. Experimental results showed that the flexure stress, total, bulk and grain boundary protonic conductivities of the ceramics were more favorable than those of the ceramics fabricated at 1500 °C and 1600 °C from the powders synthesized by solid-state reaction method.