Highly sensitive coulometric titration of oxygen for the characterization of solid materials at elevated temperatures

Abstract

A new setup for characterization of solid material oxygen exchange and conductivity in a broad oxygen partial pressure range and at elevated temperatures is presented. The development target of this setup is directed towards the detection of ultra-low amounts of exchanged oxygen. For this, electrochemical cells made of yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) were optimized and applied in a flow-through arrangement. The design and process measures enable a lower limit of detection below 100 pmol of exchanged oxygen. Furthermore, the system characteristics concerning oxygen dispersion, titration efficiency and electrode kinetics are described.