Electrostatic spray deposition of Gd0.1Ce0.9O1.95 and La0.9Sr0.1Ga0.8Mg0.2O2.87 thin films

The deposition of gadolinia-doped ceria (CGO, Gd_0.1Ce_0.9O_1.95) and LaGaO₃-based perovskite oxides (LSGM, La_0.9Sr_0.1Ga_0.8Mg_0.2O_2.87) thin films on a stainless steel substrate was studied using the electrostatic spray deposition (EDS) technique. The effect of process conditions, such as deposition temperature, deposition time and liquid flow rate, on the surface morphology and microstructure of thin films was examined with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and powder X-ray diffraction (XRD). The deposited CGO films with a highly porous and three-dimensional interconnected structure were obtained at a liquid flow rate of 0.5 ml/h, a deposition temperature of 503 K and a deposition time ranging from 0.5 to 1 h. On the other hand, the deposited LSGM thin films with porous microstructure were also obtained at the deposition time of 1 h, the deposition temperature of 533 K and the liquid flow rate of 0.5 ml/h. The deposited CGO and LSGM thin films were amorphous at the used deposition temperature. Subsequently, the samples were annealed at 1173 K for 2 h and the desired crystal structures were obtained. The chemical analysis of the thin films was investigated by energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis. The observed chemical compositions of the samples were in a fair agreement with those of the starting solutions.