Abstract
The spark plasma sintering (SPS) method was employed to prepare sintered specimens of proton conducting Sr-doped LaPO4 ceramics. The relative densities of the sintered Sr-doped LaPO4 were around 99% when higher sintering temperatures than 1050°C were applied for the SPS process, while only 93% of relative density was achieved with the conventional pressure-less sintering (PLS) method at 1200°C. Electrical conduction properties of the sintered samples with the SPS method at 1200°C were evaluated by using conductivity measurements at 500-930°C under 0.4-5kPa of p(H2O) or p(D2O) and 0.01-100kPa of p(O2). The specimen prepared with the SPS method showed similar conductivities and conduction properties as that prepared with the PLS method. These results suggested that the SPS method was a useful sintering technique to prepare proton conducting phosphate-based ceramics with a high density while keeping a feature of protonic conduction.
