Nanoscale manipulation of pyrochlore: New nanocomposite ionic conductors -art. no. 145901

The ionic conductivity of isometric pyrochlore, ideally A(2)B(2)O(7), is ex tremely sensitive to disordering of A- and B-site cations and oxygen anion vacancies. We report the first use of ion beam irradiation-induced disorder ing in Gd2Ti2O7 to produce a strain-free, buried, disordered defect-fluorit e layer approximately 12 mn thick within an ordered pyrochlore matrix. This approach provides a new means of creating nanoscale, mixed ionic-electroni c conductors in pyrochlore ceramics, such as those required for solid-state electrochemical cells.