Low temperature preparation of stabilized zirconia

The preparation of stabilized zirconia by thermal decomposition of metal alkoxides is reported. Formation of stabilized zirconia takes place at 400° C. The a.c. conductivity of the samples has been measured from 400 to 1000°C. The best conductivity is found in ZrO₂doped with 15 per cent CaO, which at 400° C is 2.37×10⁻⁶ Ω⁻¹ cm⁻¹ and at 1000°C is 1.26×10⁻² Ω⁻¹ cm⁻¹, with an activation energy of 1.16eV. Transport number measurements show that stabilized zirconia prepared by this method is purely an oxygen ion conductor.