Nature Materials
Nature Materials
5 years ago

Dynamic chemical expansion of thin-film non-stoichiometric oxides at extreme temperatures

Dynamic chemical expansion of thin-film non-stoichiometric oxides at extreme temperatures
Jessica G. Swallow, Harry L. Tuller, Krystyn J. Van Vliet, Sean R. Bishop, James F. Smith, Jae Jin Kim, John M. Maloney, Di Chen
Actuator operation in increasingly extreme and remote conditions requires materials that reliably sense and actuate at elevated temperatures, and over a range of gas environments. Design of such materials will rely on high-temperature, high-resolution approaches for characterizing material actuation in situ. Here, we demonstrate a novel type of high-temperature, low-voltage electromechanical oxide actuator based on the model material PrxCe1−xO2−δ (PCO). Chemical strain and interfacial stress resulted from electrochemically pumping oxygen into or out of PCO films, leading to measurable film volume changes due to chemical expansion. At 650 °C, nanometre-scale displacement and strain of >0.1% were achieved with electrical bias values <0.1 V, low compared to piezoelectrically driven actuators, with strain amplified fivefold by stress-induced structural deflection. This operando measurement of films ‘breathing’ at second-scale temporal resolution also enabled detailed identification of the controlling kinetics of this response, and can be extended to other electrochemomechanically coupled oxide films at extreme temperatures.

Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nmat4898

DOI: 10.1038/nmat4898

You might also like
Discover & Discuss Important Research

Keeping up-to-date with research can feel impossible, with papers being published faster than you'll ever be able to read them. That's where Researcher comes in: we're simplifying discovery and making important discussions happen. With over 19,000 sources, including peer-reviewed journals, preprints, blogs, universities, podcasts and Live events across 10 research areas, you'll never miss what's important to you. It's like social media, but better. Oh, and we should mention - it's free.

  • Download from Google Play
  • Download from App Store
  • Download from AppInChina

Researcher displays publicly available abstracts and doesn’t host any full article content. If the content is open access, we will direct clicks from the abstracts to the publisher website and display the PDF copy on our platform. Clicks to view the full text will be directed to the publisher website, where only users with subscriptions or access through their institution are able to view the full article.