Structural, thermal, and superprotonic behavior of a new phosphate NaH2PO4.2H(2)O/ZrO2

Composites of proton-conducting material based on sodium dihydrogen phosphate were prepared and doped with zirconium oxide. The structural, thermal, and transport properties of composite proton electrolytes were observed by different analyses. The performance of NaH2PO4.2H2O was observed in terms of conductivity and stability because of the addition of ZrO2 and exhibited conductivity in the higher and lower temperature range. The time-stable protonic conductivity for NaH2PO4.2H2O and composites was observed for the first time under hermetically confined conditions which was found to be stable. Thermal characterization of composites showed that the dehydration behavior in DTA shifted to a lower. Arrhenius' plots confirmed the conductive nature of NaH2PO4.2H2O. The electrodes were made by the vapor deposition technique. The improvement of mechanical and hydrophobic properties of the composites makes them more promising as compared to single salt NaH2PO4.2H2O.