Colossal ionic conductivity at interfaces of epitaxial ZrO 2:Y2O3/SrTiO3 heterostructures

J. Garcia-Barriocanal; A. Rivera-Calzada; M. Varela; Z. Sefrioui; E. Iborra; C. Leon; S. J. Pennycook; J. Santamaria

doi:10.1126/science.1156393

Colossal ionic conductivity at interfaces of epitaxial ZrO ₂:Y₂O₃/SrTiO₃ heterostructures

J. Garcia-Barriocanal, A. Rivera-Calzada, M. Varela, Z. Sefrioui, E. Iborra, C. Leon, S. J. Pennycook, J. Santamaria

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Abstract

The search for electrolyte materials with high oxygen conductivities is a key step toward reducing the operation temperature of fuel cells, which is currently above 700°C. We report a high lateral ionic conductivity, showing up to eight orders of magnitude enhancement near room temperature, in yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ)/strontium titanate epitaxial heterostructures. The enhancement of the conductivity is observed, along with a YSZ layer thickness-independent conductance, showing that it is an interface process. We propose that the atomic reconstruction at the interface between highly dissimilar structures (such as fluorite and perovskite) provides both a large number of carriers and a high-mobility plane, yielding colossal values of the ionic conductivity.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	676-680
Number of pages	5
Journal	Science
Volume	321
Issue number	5889
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1156393
State	Published - Aug 1 2008

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title = "Colossal ionic conductivity at interfaces of epitaxial ZrO 2:Y2O3/SrTiO3 heterostructures",

abstract = "The search for electrolyte materials with high oxygen conductivities is a key step toward reducing the operation temperature of fuel cells, which is currently above 700°C. We report a high lateral ionic conductivity, showing up to eight orders of magnitude enhancement near room temperature, in yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ)/strontium titanate epitaxial heterostructures. The enhancement of the conductivity is observed, along with a YSZ layer thickness-independent conductance, showing that it is an interface process. We propose that the atomic reconstruction at the interface between highly dissimilar structures (such as fluorite and perovskite) provides both a large number of carriers and a high-mobility plane, yielding colossal values of the ionic conductivity.",

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AU - Garcia-Barriocanal, J.

AU - Rivera-Calzada, A.

AU - Varela, M.

AU - Sefrioui, Z.

AU - Iborra, E.

AU - Leon, C.

AU - Pennycook, S. J.

AU - Santamaria, J.

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AB - The search for electrolyte materials with high oxygen conductivities is a key step toward reducing the operation temperature of fuel cells, which is currently above 700°C. We report a high lateral ionic conductivity, showing up to eight orders of magnitude enhancement near room temperature, in yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ)/strontium titanate epitaxial heterostructures. The enhancement of the conductivity is observed, along with a YSZ layer thickness-independent conductance, showing that it is an interface process. We propose that the atomic reconstruction at the interface between highly dissimilar structures (such as fluorite and perovskite) provides both a large number of carriers and a high-mobility plane, yielding colossal values of the ionic conductivity.

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