Optimizing Mechanical and Physical Properties of Phosphorus Pentoxide as Solid Electrolyte

The long lifetime of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) considers one of the most important significant features for estimating the high performance of SOFCs achieved with the high mechanical stability of electrolyte for electrolyte supported fuel cells. Therefore, this paper clarifies the enhancement of the mechanical stability and physical properties for solid oxide electrolytes by synthesized new SOFC electrolytes from two different molar percentages of Phosphorus Pentoxide dopant (P
2
O
5
)
0.006-
(Y
2
O
3
)
0.03-
(ZrO
2
)
0.92
, and (P
2
O
5
)
0.012-
(Y
2
O
3
)
0.03
(ZrO
2
)
-0.92
. The two electrolytes were produced successfully by using the solid-state method. Then, the influence of Phosphorus Pentoxide molar percentages dopant on the properties of sintered electrolytes was studied. Thus, the mechanical properties were investigated by the nanoindentation method, and the physical properties were accurately calculated by the ASTM method. Results showed that the mechanical properties precisely correspond to the relative density of the sintered electrolytes, and it appeared the higher Vickers hardness with toughness strength and higher relative density noticed with the electrolyte that had the lower P
2
O
5
dopant.