Properties of Interface between Platinum Sponge and Solid Electrolyte Na5TbSi4O12in an Oxygen Atmosphere at Moderate Temperatures: Effect of the Platinum Grain Size

The behavior of electrochemical cells Pt(sponge)/Na₅TbSi₄₁₂/Na_0.65Co₂(cell I) and Pt(sponge)/Na₅TbSi₄₁₂/Pt(sponge) (cell II) is studied by, respectively, potentiometric and impedance methods in oxygen and argon atmospheres at 50–300°C. Dependence of potential of cell I on the oxygen concentration is affected by the grain size of platinum sponge and the temperature. At 50–200°C the coarse-grained platinum electrode in contact with solid electrolyte Na₅TbSi₄₁₂ exhibits an oxygen function characterized by the potential-determining reaction ₂(g) + ₂ + 2 = ^– ₂ + ^–. An impedance method shows the triple-phase boundary ₂, Pt(sponge)/Na₅TbSi₄₁₂ to be reversible with respect to oxygen. The reversibility is realized by minority charge carriers in the solid electrolyte, i.e. by oxygen ions.