Fabrication and Properties of Electrolyte Film Used in Planar Oxygen Sensor

The slurry made of yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ) powders and organic additives was investigated.YSZ films used in oxygen sensors were obtained by tape casting.The influence of the dispersant on slurry was investigated by detecting the viscosity and the green relative density and film quality with the different binder and plasticizers were researched.The temperature of burnout of organic additives in the slurry of YSZ was analyzed by TG-DTA and a corresponding sintering program of the YSZ film was designed.X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scan electron microscope (SEM) were employed to observe the crystal structure and micrograph of sintered films.The performance of thermal shock resistance and conductivity were surveyed.The results showed that the green relative density achieves 55wt% and the YSZ film with almost no micro pores, but clearly grains and grain boundary and 98% of theoretical density can be gained at the final sintering temperature of 1450℃.Thermal shock resistance and conductivity are better than that of tube oxygen sensors indicating that the YSZ film is suited for electrolyte films used in oxygen sensors.