Determination of amorphous layers on thick film Nasicon in dependence on different sintering processes

In thick film gas sensors Nasicon is used as a solid electrolyte with high Na⁺ ionic conductivity. Sensors like CO₂, O₂, Pt ▮ Na₂CO₃, BaCO₃ ∥ NASICON Pt]_glass, O₂, CO₂ are suitable to measure the CO₂-concentration over 5 orders of magnitude. To characterize the screen printed Nasicon as a main component of such sensors grazing incidence diffractometry (GID), SEM, impedance spectroscopy and dc polarization measurements are performed in order to improve the long-term stability. The sintering process of the thick film influences the chemical surface composition of Nasicon and as a consequence the response of the sensor. Nasicon films sintered at temperatures between 1070 and 1210 °C show an amorphous layer increasing up to 1.1 μm thickness on the surface. Impedance measurements show, that cells using in such a way prearated Nasicon are responsible for water vapour. Paper presented at the 1st Euroconference on Solid State Ionics, Zakynthos, Greece, 11 – 18 Sept. 1994