Journal of the Electrochemical Society, Vol.141, No.5, 1261-1267, 1994
Dependence of the Kinetics of Electrochemical Vapor-Deposition of CeO2 on Oxygen Partial-Pressure
The kinetics of deposition of CeO2 on a dense Y2O3-doped CeO2 substrate by electrochemical vapor deposition (EVD) were analyzed taking into account the dependence of ionic and electronic conductivities on oxygen partial pressure, pO2, of both the deposit and the substrate. The analysis shows that the equivalent circuit approach advanced previously satisfactory explains the numerical and experimental results. The numerically generated rate constants for the film, K(f), and the substrate, K(s), depend on the partial pressure of oxygen, pO2. Specifically, the lower the pO2 at the film-gas phase interface, the higher are K(f) and K(s). CeO2 films were deposited by EVD on dense Y2O3-doped CeO2 substrates. Each substrate had a conical depression in the center such that the thickness of the substrate was spatially dependent. Experiments were conducted with and without Ni metal as an oxygen getter placed in the chamber containing CeCl3 precursor. Experiments also were conducted with a mixture of hydrogen and argon introduced on the CeCl3 side. The rate constants of the film, K(f), and the substrate, K(s), were substantially higher when either Ni was placed or hydrogen was circulated on the CeCl3 side. This shows that by judiciously selecting the atmosphere on the precursor side, the kinetics of the EVD process can be increased significantly.