Characterization of chemical composition and electronic structure of Pt/YSZ interfaces by analytical transmission electron microscopy

Platinum/yttria stabilized zirconia (Pt/YSZ) interfaces with two different orientation relationships were characterized using advanced analytical transmission electron microscopy methods. Quantitative X-ray energy dispersive spectroscopy (XEDS) was performed by the recently developed ζ-factor method. Neither interdiffusion nor segregation was detected across the Pt/YSZ interfaces of both orientation conditions within the resolution limit of the technique. The interface specific components of the electron energy-loss near-edge structures (ELNES) were extracted by employing the spatial difference technique. Features of the O–K ELNES at the interface are distinctly different from that at bulk YSZ indicating Pt–O bonding. The experimentally observed changes in the O–K ELNES are in good agreement with the results of ab-initio full multiple scattering calculation, based on structure modeling at the interfaces.