Electrical Properties of Bi-doped Apatite-type Lanthanum Silicates Materials for SOFCs

$La_{7.33}Bi_2(SiO_4)_6O_2$ specimens were fabricated by standard solid-state synthesis route for solid oxide electrolytes. The calcined powders exhibited uniform particles with a mean particle size of about $28{\mu}m$. The room-temperature structure of $La_{7.33}Bi_2(SiO_4)_6O_2$ specimens was analyzed as hexagonal, space group P63 or P63/m, and the unit cell volume increased with increase a sintering temperature. The specimens sintered at $1,175^{\circ}C$ showed X-ray patterns of homogeneous apatite single phase without the second phase such as $La_2Si_2O_7$ and $La_2SiO_5$. The specimen sintered at $1,175^{\circ}C$ showed the maximum sintered density of 5.49 $g/cm^3$. Increasing the sintering temperature, total conductivities increased, activation energy decreased and the values were $1.98{\times}10^{-5}Scm-1$ and 1.23 eV, respectively.