Pronounced enhancement of thermal expansion coefficients of rare-earth zirconate by cerium doping

Rare-earth zirconates (RE₂Zr₂O₇, RE = rare earth elements) are considered as promising thermal barrier coating (TBCs) materials. However, their thermal expansion coefficient (TEC) is relatively low comparing with that of either the state-of-the-art TBCs material Yttria-stabilized Zirconia (YSZ), or the metallic bond-coat. In present research, Cerium was introduced as the substitution of Zirconium to improve the TEC of rare-earth zirconates. A series of Yb₂(Zr_1−xCe_x)₂O₇ solid solutions were synthesized and investigated. Experimental results revealed that their TEC is remarkably increased with the Cerium substitution content. Meanwhile, their thermal conductivity shows no obvious increase compared with that of Yb₂Zr₂O₇due to the phonon scattering effect.