Mechanical Engineering and Manufacturing Technology

The purpose of this research is the synthesis and structural characterization of SrNd0.65Zr0.35O3-δperovskite material.The sample has been prepared by solid-state sintering method and was sintered at 1300 ℃ for 12 hours in an air atmosphere where rate of heating and cooling was 5 ℃min -1 .The structural and various crystalline parameters of this sample were calculated by the X-ray diffraction (XRD) experiment.The XRD data was refined using FullProf suite software which is based on Rietveld method.Refinement confirmed perovskite structure with single-phase cubic perovskite (fluoritetype) structure.Space group was found as Fm-3m.The cell parameters of the material were calculated and found to be а = b = c = 5.252509 Å and α = β = γ = 90°.After Rietveld refinement, the goodness of fit (χ 2 ) value of the sample was in good agreement with the reference data.The structural, mechanical and chemical properties of the sample were studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and differential thermal analysis (DTA).The SEM microstructures of the sample showed that the samples were very dense sintered at 1300 ℃.The DTA scan was done for understanding the temperature dependent behavior.The dilatometer measurement of SrNd0.65Zr0.35O3-δshows a good agreement with the literature results of YSZ which is a commercial material used for the electrolyte component of SOFC.The structural, density and thermal properties demonstrate that SNZ perovskite can be used as a proton-conducting electrolyte material for the intermediate temperature solid oxide fuel cell (IT-SOFC).