High-temperature stability of (Gd1−xCex)2Zr2O7+x (x = 0–1) synthesized by spray pyrolysis in air

In this paper, (Gd 1− x Ce x ) 2 Zr 2 O 7+ x immobilized matrices with high cerium (Ce) amount-of-substance fractions (up to 90%) were prepared by sol-spray pyrolysis , and then sintered at 1600 °C in air. XRD results showed that all samples were in a mixture of pyrochlore and fluorite phase, even after sintering at 1600 °C. All the sintered bulks were dense, and the densities were independent of the additive content . The SEM results showed that all samples were chemically homogeneous. There was no segregation in the grain boundary. EDS quantification yielded a mean composition close to the stoichiometric chemical composition.