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PreprintCC BYChemRxiv

Hybrid Grain-Core/Grain Boundary Proton Conductivity in Nanocrystalline La2Ce2O7 Thin Films at 298 - 453K

  • Hadar Dessau1,2
  • Daniel Freidzon1,2
  • Ellen Wachtel1,2
  • Anna Kossoy3,2
  • Olga Brontvein3,2
  • Katya Rechav3,2
  • Ifat Kaplan-Ashiri3,2
  • Isaac Abrahams4
  • Igor Lubomirsky1,2
  • David Ehre1,2
4 affiliations
  1. 1Department of Molecular Chemistry and Materials Science
  2. 2Weizmann Institute of Science
  3. 3Department of Chemical Research Support
  4. 4Department of Chemistry, Queen Mary University of London, Mile End Road, London, UK, E1 4NS
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Abstract

La3+ doping of ceria promotes hydration at the site of oxygen vacancy defects and, consequently, also protonic conductivity, thereby positioning fluorite-structured La2Ce2O7 (LCO50) as a promising low temperature (LT, i.e., < 473 K) solid state proton-conducting electrolyte . With mean grain size for polycrystalline LCO50 thin films of ~5 nm by sputter-deposition at 293 K, room temperature total conductivity is measured by impedance spectroscopy to be ~7.5×10-9 S/cm. This is approximately two orders of magnitude higher than that previously measured for highly textured, LCO50 thin films, sputter-deposited at 733 K. Here, experimental evidence is provided that the dominant LT conduction mechanism in nanocrystalline LCO50 thin films is protonic, given the measured total activation energy of 0.396±0.007eV between 373K and 453 K. At these temperatures, the conductivity of the nanocrystalline LCO50 films is approximately independent of the atmospheric relative humidity while change is minimal even under high vacuum. We interpret these properties in terms of a hybrid grain-core/grain-boundary protonic conduction mechanism, in which the grain core acts as a proton reservoir and the grain boundary, as a rapid conduction path. Such a micro-fabrication compatible, solid state protonic conductor offers versatile applications including fuel cells, sensors and battery-run devices.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@misc{dessau2026hybrid,
  title = {{Hybrid Grain-Core/Grain Boundary Proton Conductivity in Nanocrystalline La2Ce2O7 Thin Films at 298 - 453K}},
  author = {Hadar Dessau and Daniel Freidzon and Ellen Wachtel and Anna Kossoy and Olga Brontvein and Katya Rechav and Ifat Kaplan-Ashiri and Isaac Abrahams and Igor Lubomirsky and David Ehre},
  howpublished = {ChemRxiv},
  year = {2026},
  month = sep,
  doi = {10.26434/chemrxiv.15009413/v1},
  url = {https://chemrxiv.org/doi/full/10.26434/chemrxiv.15009413/v1},
  note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY  - UNPB
TI  - Hybrid Grain-Core/Grain Boundary Proton Conductivity in Nanocrystalline La2Ce2O7 Thin Films at 298 - 453K
AU  - Hadar Dessau
AU  - Daniel Freidzon
AU  - Ellen Wachtel
AU  - Anna Kossoy
AU  - Olga Brontvein
AU  - Katya Rechav
AU  - Ifat Kaplan-Ashiri
AU  - Isaac Abrahams
AU  - Igor Lubomirsky
AU  - David Ehre
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/09/24
PB  - ChemRxiv
DO  - 10.26434/chemrxiv.15009413/v1
UR  - https://chemrxiv.org/doi/full/10.26434/chemrxiv.15009413/v1
AB  - La3+ doping of ceria promotes hydration at the site of oxygen vacancy defects and, consequently, also protonic conductivity, thereby positioning fluorite-structured La2Ce2O7 (LCO50) as a promising low temperature (LT, i.e., < 473 K) solid state proton-conducting electrolyte . With mean grain size for polycrystalline LCO50 thin films of ~5 nm by sputter-deposition at 293 K, room temperature total conductivity is measured by impedance spectroscopy to be ~7.5×10-9 S/cm. This is approximately two orders of magnitude higher than that previously measured for highly textured, LCO50 thin films, sputter-deposited at 733 K. Here, experimental evidence is provided that the dominant LT conduction mechanism in nanocrystalline LCO50 thin films is protonic, given the measured total activation energy of 0.396±0.007eV between 373K and 453 K. At these temperatures, the conductivity of the nanocrystalline LCO50 films is approximately independent of the atmospheric relative humidity while change is minimal even under high vacuum. We interpret these properties in terms of a hybrid grain-core/grain-boundary protonic conduction mechanism, in which the grain core acts as a proton reservoir and the grain boundary, as a rapid conduction path. Such a micro-fabrication compatible, solid state protonic conductor offers versatile applications including fuel cells, sensors and battery-run devices.
ER  -