Improving the electrical property of CeO2-containing sealing glass–ceramics for Solid Oxide Fuel Cell applications: Effect of HfO2

Abstract The electrical property of sealing glass–ceramics is of great importance for Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) applications. In spite of their good sintering property, CeO 2 -containing glass–ceramics often lack in sufficient electrical resistance, due to the formation of CeO 2 as a conductive phase. Here we report for the first time that the electrical conductivity of CeO 2 -containing glass–ceramics can be reduced by an order of magnitude with HfO 2 dopant. A mechanism on the improved electrical property has also been proposed in terms of the structural change in HfO 2 -doped glass–ceramics. In addition, the relationship between phase evolution of HfO 2 -doped glass–ceramics and the change in conductivity with operational time has been systematically investigated. Moreover, HfO 2 -doped glass–ceramics show good chemical compatibility with 8 mol.% yttria-stabilized zirconia (8YSZ) electrolyte, after held at 750 °C for 500 h. The reported results support the suitability of prepared glass–ceramics as sealing materials for SOFC applications.