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A2Zr2O7 (A = Nd, Sm, Gd, Yb) zirconate ceramics with pyrochlore-type structure for high-temperature negative temperature coefficient thermistor

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Abstract

The aim of this paper is to present a novel negative temperature coefficient (NTC) thermistor based on A2Zr2O7 (A = Nd, Sm, Gd, Yb) zirconate ceramics with pyrochlore-type structure for high-temperature application. The zirconate ceramics were synthesized via a solid-state reaction method where rare-earth oxides and ZrO2 were used as starting materials. The physical structures were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and Raman spectroscopy. It was confirmed that Nd2Zr2O7 and Sm2Zr2O7 are pyrochlore phases, while Yb2Zr2O7 and Gd2Zr2O7 are defect fluorite phases. The electrical property investigated by using resistance–temperature measurements demonstrated that the prepared A2Zr2O7 zirconate ceramics exhibit a typical characteristic of NTC over a wide temperature range between 673 and 1273 K. Particularly, A2Zr2O7, in addition to having high activation energy to ensure better sensitivity, can still maintain higher resistivity under high-temperature environments. Furthermore, the resistivity of A2Zr2O7 is almost independent of the change in oxygen partial pressure. These properties are superior to the classical spinel-type or perovskite-type NTC thermistor, providing valuable information to explore new NTC thermistor for high-temperature applications.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 61804178), the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grant No. YZ201557) and the Youth Innovation Promotion Association of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grant No. 2014388).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Inorganic Chemistry, Xinjiang Normal University, Ürümqi, People’s Republic of China

    Yige Wang & Zhi Su

  2. Key Laboratory of Functional Materials and Devices for Special Environments of CAS, Xinjiang Key Laboratory of Electronic Information Materials and Devices, Xinjiang Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry of CAS, Ürümqi, People’s Republic of China

    Bo Gao, Qian Wang, Xiaohui Li & Aimin Chang

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  1. Yige Wang
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  3. Qian Wang
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Wang, Y., Gao, B., Wang, Q. et al. A2Zr2O7 (A = Nd, Sm, Gd, Yb) zirconate ceramics with pyrochlore-type structure for high-temperature negative temperature coefficient thermistor. J Mater Sci 55, 15405–15414 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-020-05104-5

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