Investigation of the relationship between the ionic conductivity and the local structures of singly and doubly doped ceria compounds using EXAFS measurement

The oxide ionic conductivity measurements of singly and doubly doped ceria compounds were carried out. Singly and doubly doped ceria used in this study were Ce_0.8Ln_0.2O_1.9 (Ln=Y, Sm, Nd, or La) and Ce_0.8La_0.1Y_0.1O_1.9, respectively. Lattice constants of these compounds were in proportion to the ionic radius of the dopant(s). The doubly doped ceria compound showed oxide ionic conductivity comparative to the average of that of each corresponding singly doped sample. This finding indicates that the conductivity is influenced by both dopants in the doubly doped compounds. The extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) study showed that the coordination number of oxide ions at the nearest neighbor of cation was related to the ionic conductivity. It was found that the conductivity gave the highest value when oxygen vacancies were randomly distributed in the lattice. This indicates that the local structure seriously affects oxide ionic conduction in singly and doubly doped ceria compounds.     

A Systematic investigation of the dc electrical conductivity of rare-earth doped ceria

The dc electrical conductivity of rare-earth doped ceria has been measured as a function of temperature (300–600 K) and composition (0.05–15 mol% M₂O₃) on using the complex impedance technique. Five dopants have been selected, yttrium and the lanthanides Yb, Gd, Nd, and La. For all of them, the variations of the activation energy versus dopant concentration are similar and characterized by the existence of a minimum. This peculiar property can be understood if attractive interactions between immobile dopant ions and mobile oxygen vacancies are taken into account. From an analysis of the experimental results, it is concluded that this interaction extends at least to third or fourth nearest neighbors depending on the size and the electronic configuration of the dopant ion.     

A study of oxygen ion conductivity in doped non-stoichiometric oxides

In doped non-stoichiometric oxides that show oxygen ion conductivity, association commonly takes place between the dopant cations and the compensating oxygen vacancies. The activation energy thus comprises two parts, a migration enthalpy and an association enthalpy. We have determined the effects of structure and host cation type on the migration enthalpies, and the effect of dopant cation size on the association enthalpies. This we did by a variety of methods including theoretical calculations and experiment. We have further reviewed the literature in order to verify our calculations and we conclude that size terms in the association enthalpies are the most important factor in the determination of the magnitude of oxygen ion conduction.     

Aging behavior and ionic conductivity of ceria-based ceramics: a comparative study

An understanding of high-temperature aging effects on the electrical properties of electrolytes is very important in selecting optimum compositions for practical applications. The aging behavior and mechanisms of doped zirconia ceramics have been extensively studied. However, little information is available regarding the aging behavior of ceria-based electrolytes. The present study has demonstrated that a high-temperature aging at 1000 °C has a significant effect on the ionic conductivity of the Y- or Gd-doped ceria (Ce_1−xY_xO_2−δ and Ce_1−xGd_xO_2−δ), especially in the case of the Gd doping. The aging behavior is characterized by a critical dopant concentration, above which the aging has a detrimental effect on the conductivity of the doped ceria ceramics. The aging behavior in the doped ceria cannot be explained using the aging mechanisms applied to the doped zirconia. Instead, the formation of the microdomains in the doped ceria has been acknowledged to be the main contribution to the aging behavior of the Y- or Gd-doped ceria ceramics. The formation ability of microdomains has been estimated to be in the order of La³⁺>Gd³⁺>Y³⁺, based on the degree of size mismatch between the dopant ion and Ce⁴⁺ ion. The critical dopant concentrations at which the microdomains start to form for La³⁺, Gd³⁺ and Y³⁺ in the doped ceria ceramics are x=0.15, 0.2 and 0.25, respectively. This critical dopant concentration is also an important indication: below which the conductivity is governed by only the association enthalpy, and above which the conductivity is dominated mainly by the microdomains rather than the association enthalpy.     

Study of Fluorescence Quenching in Aluminum-Doped Ceria Nanoparticles: Potential Molecular Probe for Dissolved Oxygen

This work investigates a novel usage of aluminum-doped ceria nanoparticles (ADC-NPs), as the molecular probe in optical fluorescence quenching for sensing the dissolved oxygen (DO). Cerium oxide (ceria) nanoparticles can be considered one of the most unique nanomaterials that are being studied today due to the diffusion and reactivity of oxygen vacancies in ceria, which contributes to its high oxygen storage capability. Aluminum can be considered a promising dopant to increase the oxygen ionic conductivity in ceria nanoparticles which can improve the sensitivity of ceria nanoparticles to DO. The fluorescence intensity of ADC-NPs, synthesized via chemical precipitation, is found to have a strong inverse relationship with the DO concentration in aqueous solutions. Stern-Volmer constant of ADC-NPs at room temperature is determined to be 454.6 M^?1, which indicates that ADC-NPs have a promising sensitivity to dissolved oxygen, compared to many presently used fluorophores. In addition, Stern-Volmer constant is found to have a relatively small dependence on temperature between 25 °C to 50 °C, which shows excellent thermal stability of ADC-NPs sensitivity. Our work suggests that ADC-NPs, at 6 nm, are the smallest diameter DO molecular probes between the currently used optical DO sensors composed of different nanostructures. This investigation can improve the performance of fluorescence-quenching DO sensors for industrial and environmental applications.     

The defect structure of calcia stabilized zirconia

Theoretical techniques have been used to examine the two models proposed for the defect structure of stabilized zirconias. The first model is based on simple clusters of dopant ions and the charge compensating oxygen vacancies, while the second suggests that fluorite-related microdomains form within the host lattice.

We show that the energies of formation of the clusters and microdomains are almost equal, the microdomain being favoured by 0.09 eV per dopant ion. Thus the calculations suggest that both point defects and microdomains may be present, with point defects predominating at low dopant concentration and higher temperatures.     

Ceria: Relation among thermodynamic,electronic hole and proton properties

The proton solubility and the hole conductivity of the rare earth doped ceria have been examined in their relations to the thermodynamic properties of doped ceria under the assumption that the hypothetical species, LnOOH and LnOO (Ln = Rare earth), can be regarded as constituents for representing protons and holes in the fluorite lattice. Focus is made on the dopant dependence, the host dependence and the temperature dependence in the rare earth doped zirconia(or ceria) fluorite lattice. The chemical potentials of the rare earth dopant are less stabilized in the ceria-based oxides than in the zirconia-based ones. The proton solubility in the ceria-based, zirconia-based, and ceria–zirconia solid solutions has been well interpreted in terms mainly of the hydroxidation energy and the stabilization energy of LnO_1.5 in the fluorite lattice. Since the dopant dependence of the stabilization energy of LnO_1.5 is stronger than the hydroxidation energy, the proton solubility becomes high in the smaller dopants. To account for less dopant-dependent behavior in the hole conduction, the peroxidation energy is assumed to have about the same dopant dependence as the stabilization energy. The calculated temperature dependences of proton solubility and hole concentration were compared with available experimental data; it has been suggested that holes and protons in ceria reach to saturation levels with lowering temperature. Some discussions are made on the possible explanation on recently observed anomalous hole conductivity in nano-size Ce_0.8Gd_0.2O_1.9 in terms of plausible effects of miscibility gap, associated Gd enrichment, and simultaneous formation of Ce³⁺ and holes.     

Tailoring oxide properties: An impact on adsorption characteristics of molecules and metals

Both density functional theory calculations and numerous experimental studies demonstrate a variety of unique features in metal supported oxide films and transition metal doped simple oxides, which are markedly different from their unmodified counterparts. This review highlights, from the computational perspective, recent literature on the properties of the above mentioned surfaces and how they adsorb and activate different species, support metal aggregates, and even catalyse reactions. The adsorption of Au atoms and clusters on metal-supported MgO films are reviewed together with the cluster׳s theoretically predicted ability to activate and dissociate O₂ at the Au–MgO(100)/Ag(100) interface, as well as the impact of an interface vacancy to the binding of an Au atom. In contrast to a bulk MgO surface, an Au atom binds strongly on a metal-supported ultra-thin MgO film and becomes negatively charged. Similarly, Au clusters bind strongly on a supported MgO(100) film and are negatively charged favouring 2D planar structures. The adsorption of other metal atoms is briefly considered and compared to that of Au. Existing computational literature of adsorption and reactivity of simple molecules including O₂, CO, NO₂, and H₂O on mainly metal-supported MgO(100) films is discussed. Chemical reactions such as CO oxidation and O₂ dissociation are discussed on the bare thin MgO film and on selected Au clusters supported on MgO(100)/metal surfaces. The Au atoms at the perimeter of the cluster are responsible for catalytic activity and calculations predict that they facilitate dissociative adsorption of oxygen even at ambient conditions. The interaction of H₂O with a flat and stepped Ag-supported MgO film is summarized and compared to bulk MgO. The computational results highlight spontaneous dissociation on MgO steps. Furthermore, the impact of water coverage on adsorption and dissociation is addressed. The modifications, such as oxygen vacancies and dopants, at the oxide–metal interface and their effect on the adsorption characteristics of water and Au are summarized. Finally, more limited computational literature on transition metal (TM) doped CaO(100) and MgO(100) surfaces is presented. Again, Au is used as a probe species. Similar to metal-supported MgO films, Au binds more strongly than on undoped CaO(100) and becomes negatively charged. The discussion focuses on rationalization of Au adsorption with the help of Born–Haber cycle, which reveals that the so-called redox energy including the electron transfer from the dopant to the Au atom together with the simultaneous structural relaxation of lattice atoms is responsible for enhanced binding. In addition, adsorption energy dependence on the position and type of the dopant is summarized.     

Control of morphology and dopant distribution in yttrium-doped ceria nanoparticles

The morphology and distribution of dopant in yttrium-doped ceria (YDC) nanoparticles prepared by spray pyrolysis were characterised by transmission electron microscopy and X-ray energy dispersive spectroscopy (XEDS), respectively. By combining the XEDS analysis and concentration distribution modelling, accurate yttrium dopant concentration variation from the particle center to the surface can be determined. It is shown that by appropriately selecting cerium precursors, the yttrium dopant distribution in YDC nanoparticles can be controlled. Uniform yttrium distribution in the YDC particles has been achieved, which is important to decrease probability of yttrium cluster segregation to improve oxygen ion conductivity in solid oxide fuel cell electrolytes. This control is based on the suggested mechanism of dopant distribution which proposes that hydration energies influence diffusion rates of the precursors during preparation process. In addition, the morphology (solid spherical, hollow spherical and hollow concave) formation mechanisms of the YDC particles from different cerium precursors are discussed.     

Defects band enhanced by resonance Raman effect in praseodymium doped CeO2

In this work, the origin of the Raman defects band at 570 cm⁻¹ of praseodymium‐doped ceria was revisited from in situ spectra using six different exciting lines between 458 and 785 nm at low temperatures after oxidizing or reducing treatment. The observation of overtones and the fast change of relative intensity with excitation wavelength were explained by a resonance effect around 514 nm, which involved a Pr⁴⁺ containing defect stabilized at the oxidized state leading to an absorption band around 530 nm. The reduction of Pr⁴⁺ cations contained in such defects modifies the electronic properties of praseodymium doped ceria inhibiting the resonance effect. Additionally, the number of D1 defects that involved Pr³⁺ cations and oxygen vacancies increased allowing them to be distinguished. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Experimental evidence for fast cluster formation of chain oxygen vacancies in YBa2Cu3O7−δ as the origin of the fishtail anomaly

We report on three different and complementary measurements, namely magnetization measurements, positron annihilation and NMR spectroscopy, which give evidence that the formation of oxygen vacancy clusters is the origin of the fishtail anomaly in YBa₂Cu₃O_7−δ. In contrast to YBa₂Cu₃O_7.0, where the anomaly is intrinsically absent, it can be suppressed in the optimally doped state where vacancies are present. Thus, clusters of oxygen vacancies rather than single vacancies or point defects are responsible for this anomaly.     

The coexistence of ferroelectricity and ferromagnetism in Mn-doped BaTiO3 thin films

Due to the fault of the first author, this article entitled “The coexistence of ferroelectricity and ferromagnetism in Mn-doped BaTiO3 thin films”, published in “Chinese Physics B”, 2011,Vol.20, Issue 12, Article No. 127701, has been found to copy from the article entitled“Decisive role of oxygen vacancy in ferroelectric versus ferromagnetic Mn-doped BaTiO3 thin films”, published in “Journal of Applied Physics”, 2011,Vol.109, Issue 8, article No. 084105. So the above article in “Chinese Physics B” has been withdrawn from the publication.<     

Influence of Dopants in ZnO Films on Defects

The influence of dopants in ZnO films on defects is investigated by slow positron annihilation technique. The results show S that parameters meet S_Al>S_un>S_Ag for Al-doped ZnO films, undoped and Ag-doped ZnO films. Zinc vacancies are found in all ZnO films with different dopants. According to S parameter and the same defect type, it can be induced that the zinc vacancy concentration is the highest in the Al-doped ZnO film, and it is the least in the Ag-doped ZnO film. When Al atoms are doped in the ZnO films grown on silicon substrates, Zn vacancies increase as compared to the undoped and Ag-doped ZnO films. The dopant concentration could determine the position of Fermi level in materials, while defect formation energy of zinc vacancy strongly depends on the position of Fermi level, so its concentration varies with dopant element and dopant concentration.     

Effect of hydrogenation vs. re-heating on intrinsic magnetization of Co doped In2O3

Influence of Co doping for In in In₂O₃ matrix has been investigated to study the effect on magnetic vs. electronic properties. Rietveld refinement of X-ray diffraction patterns confirmed formation of single phase cubic bixbyite structure without any parasitic phase. Photoelectron spectroscopy and refinement results further revealed that dopant Co²⁺ ions are well incorporated at the In³⁺ sites in In₂O₃ lattice and also ruled out formation of cluster in the doped samples. Magnetization measurements infer that pure In₂O₃ is diamagnetic and turns to weak ferromagnetic upon Co doping. Hydrogenation further induces a huge ferromagnetism at 300 K that vanishes upon re-heating. Experimental findings confirm the induced ferromagnetism to be intrinsic, and the magnetic moments to be associated with the point defects (oxygen vacancies V_o) or bound magnetic polarons around the dopant ions.     

XPS and ab initio study of the interaction of PbTe with molecular oxygen

Density functional (B3LYP) calculations have been performed to investigate the adsorption of molecule on the surface of cluster (PbTe)₄. To study the influence of point defects (namely, impurity atoms and cation and anion vacancies) on the reactivity of PbTe surface, clusters (PbTe)₃GeTe, (PbTe)₃GaTe, (PbTe)₃Te, and (PbTe)₃(Pb) were investigated. The adsorption of oxygen on the surface of (PbS)₄ cluster was calculated to evaluate the role of anions in the adsorption process. It was shown that the formation of the peroxide-like complex is the first step of adsorption. The calculated tendency to surface oxidation increases in sequence: PbTe with cation vacancies <PbS < pure PbTe < PbTe doped with Ga < PbTe doped with Ge < PbTe with anion vacancies. The results of quantum-chemical calculations correlate with X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy data.     

Oxygen vacancy pairs on CeO2(110): A DFT + U study

Oxygen vacancy pairs have been suggested to play a role in the reduction of NO molecules on ceria and for the oxidation processes of reducible rare-earth oxides. The formation energy of the oxygen vacancy pairs and the changes in the structural and electronic properties of the ceria (110) surface with oxygen vacancy pairs are investigated using density-functional theory (DFT + U) methodology within the generalized gradient approximation. It is found that the excess electrons localize on the Ce ions neighbouring the vacancies, and the most stable structure for the oxygen vacancy pairs on the ceria (110) surface is at next-nearest-neighbour site.     

Lattice distortion and corresponding changes in optical properties of CeO2 nanoparticles on Nd doping

Doping of Nd distorts the lattice structure of CeO₂, increases the lattice strain and expands the lattice. Oxygen vacancies and other ceria related defects contribute to the lattice strain. Shifting and broadening of the F_2g Raman peak of doped sample, compared to pure CeO₂, is indicative of local structure distortion on doping. Dopant induced enhancement of oxygen vacancies, in the CeO₂ lattice, is further confirmed by the generation of a new Raman peak at 543 cm^?1 that is otherwise absent in the pure one. UV–vis spectroscopy gives an understanding of the different types of f–f electronic transition of Nd in the crystalline environment of CeO₂. Effective band gap of CeO₂ reduces upto Nd concentration of 2.5%. The band gap, however, increases at 4% of Nd due to Burstein–Moss shift. Photoluminescence intensity of pure CeO₂ decreases with Nd concentration owing to the increase in the number of non radiative oxygen vacancies. These vacancies act as luminescence quencher and reduce the emission intensity. Photoluminescence excitation spectra confirm the presence of these oxygen vacancies in the CeO₂ nanocrystallites.     

Ti/HfO2/Pt阻变存储单元中的氧空位聚簇分布

为了研究阻变存储器导电细丝的形成位置和分布规律, 使用X射线光电子能谱研究了Ti/HfO₂/Pt阻变存储器件单元中Hf 4f的空间分布, 得到了阻变层的微结构信息. 通过I-V测试, 得到该器件单元具有典型的阻变特性; 通过针对Hf 4f的不同深度测试, 发现处于低阻态时, 随着深度的增加, Hf⁴⁺化学组分单调地减小; 而处于高阻态和未施加电压前, 该组分呈现波动分布; 通过Hf⁴⁺在高阻态和低阻态下组分含量以及电子能损失谱分析, 得到高阻态下Hf⁴⁺组分的平均含量要高于低阻态; 另外, 高阻态和低阻态下的O 1s谱随深度的演变也验证了Hf⁴⁺的变化规律. 根据实验结果, 提出了局域分布的氧空位聚簇可能是造成这一现象的原因. 空位簇间的链接和断裂决定了导电细丝的形成和消失. 由于导电细丝容易在氧空位缺陷聚簇的地方首先形成, 这一研究为导电细丝的发生位置提供了参考.