The microwave sintering method is found to have advantages over the conventional thermal treatment method for preparing BaZr_0.1Ce_0.7Y_0.2O_3-δ powder. Comparing with the conventional thermal treatment, the microwave sintering method allows the solid material to be self-heated, enabling the formation of pure phase BaZr_0.1Ce_0.7Y_0.2O_3-δ powder at a relatively low temperature (900 °C) with a short dwell time of 1 h, while the same pure phase can only be formed at 1000 °C in an electric furnace. Importantly, the grain size for the microwave prepared BaZr_0.1Ce_0.7Y_0.2O_3-δ powder is much smaller than that of the conventionally thermal treated BaZr_0.1Ce_0.7Y_0.2O_3-δ powder. The small powder grain size is found to be beneficial for the densification and grain growth of the resultant electrolyte membrane during the electrolyte sintering procedure. A fuel cell fabricated using this electrolyte membrane with a conductivity of 7 × 10⁻³ S cm⁻¹ delivers a power output of 791 mW cm⁻² at 700 °C.

发现微波烧结方法比用于制备BaZr _0.1 Ce _0.7 Y _0.2 O3 _-δ粉末的常规热处理方法具有优势。与常规热处理相比，微波烧结法可使固体材料自热，从而能够在相对较低的温度（900°C）下以较低的温度形成纯相BaZr _0.1 Ce _0.7 Y _0.2 O3 _-δ粉末。 1小时的短停留时间，而相同的纯相只能在电炉中于1000°C下形成。重要的是，微波制备的晶粒尺寸为BaZr _0.1 Ce _0.7 Y _0.2O3 _-δ粉末比常规热处理的BaZr _0.1 Ce _0.7 Y _0.2 O3 _-δ粉末小得多。发现小的粉末粒度有利于在电解质烧结过程中所得电解质膜的致密化和晶粒生长。使用该电解质膜以7×10 ^-3  S cm ^-1的电导率制造的燃料电池在700℃下输出791 mW cm ^-2的功率。