Project description:Tremendous efforts to develop high-efficiency reduced-temperature (? 600°C) solid oxide fuel cells are motivated by their potentials for reduced materials cost, less engineering challenge, and better performance durability. A key obstacle to such fuel cells arises from sluggish oxygen reduction reaction kinetics on the cathodes. Here we reported that an oxide hybrid, featuring a nanoporous Sm(0.5)Sr(0.5)CoO(3-?) (SSC) catalyst coating bonded onto the internal surface of a high-porosity La(0.9)Sr(0.1)Ga(0.8)Mg(0.2)O(3-?) (LSGM) backbone, exhibited superior catalytic activity for oxygen reduction reactions and thereby yielded low interfacial resistances in air, e.g., 0.021 ? cm(2) at 650°C and 0.043 ? cm(2) at 600°C. We further demonstrated that such a micro-nano porous hybrid, adopted as the cathode in a thin LSGM electrolyte fuel cell, produced impressive power densities of 2.02 W cm(-2) at 650°C and 1.46 W cm(-2) at 600°C when operated on humidified hydrogen fuel and air oxidant.
Project description:Reversible solid oxide fuel cell (RSOFC) is an energy device that flexibly interchanges between electrical and chemical energy according to people's life and production needs. The development of cell materials affects the stability and cost of the cell, but also restricts its market-oriented development. After decades of research by scientists, a lot of achievements and progress have been made on RSOFC materials. According to the composition and requirements of each component of RSOFC, this article summarizes the research progress based on materials and discusses the merits and demerits of current cell materials in electrochemical performance. According to the efficiency of different materials in solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC mode) and solid oxide electrolyzer (SOEC mode), the challenges encountered by RSOFC in the operation are evaluated, and the future development of RSOFC materials is boldly prospected.
Project description:Heterostructured composite ceria electrolytes have been shown to accelerate the oxygen reduction activity and provide a new approach to improve solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) performance. In this study, barium carbonate was added to gadolinium-doped ceria, Gd0.2Ce0.8O2-δ (GDC) electrolyte to improve the electrochemical performance of intermediate-temperature SOFCs. The heterostructured electrolyte was formed by the addition of 5 wt % BaCO3 to a GDC electrolyte, resulting in a reaction during sintering that formed well-dispersed BaCe0.8Gd0.2O3-δ (BCG) throughout the electrolyte. The resulting material was tested as an electrolyte using La0.6Sr0.4Co0.2Fe0.8O3-δ as a cathode, resulting in a dramatic reduction to the polarization resistance of more than half the value (600 and 700 °C, the resistance was reduced from 2.49 and 0.23 Ω cm2 to 1.21 and 0.12 Ω cm2) obtained by using pure GDC as an electrolyte. Furthermore, full cell SOFC tests employing the heterostructured electrolyte conducted during overextended durations indicated that the BCG phase in the 5BCG-GDC electrolyte was stable in an air atmosphere with no observed reactions with residual CO2. This approach of tailoring surface reactivity by tailoring the composition and structure of the electrolyte as opposed to electrode materials provides an alternative method to improve fuel cell performance.
Project description:This study aims to investigate the implications of transition-metal Zn doping at the B-site on the crystal structure, average thermal expansion coefficient (TEC), electrocatalytic activity, and electrochemical performance of LaBaFe2O5+δ by preparing LaBaFe2-xZnxO5+δ (x = 0, 0.05, 0.1, 0.15, 0.2, LBFZx). The X-ray diffraction (XRD) results show that Zn2+ doping does not change the crystal structure, the unit cell volume increases, and the lattice expands. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and mineral titration results show that the oxygen vacancy concentration and Fe4+ content gradually increase with the increase in doping amount. TEC decreases with the increase in Zn2+ doping amount, and the TEC of LBFZ0.2 is 11.4 × 10-6 K-1 at 30-750 °C. The conductivity has the best value of 103 S cm-1 at the doping amount of x = 0.1. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images demonstrate that the electrolyte CGO(Gd0.1Ce0.9O1.95) becomes denser after high-temperature calcination, and the cathode material is well attached to the electrolyte. The electrochemical impedance analysis shows that Zn2+ doping at the B-site can reduce the (Rp) polarization resistance, and the Rp value of the symmetric cell with LaBaFe1.8Zn0.2O5+δ as cathode at 800 °C is 0.014 Ω cm2. The peak power density (PPD) value of the anode-supported single cell is 453 mW cm-2, which shows excellent electrochemical performance.
Project description:Thermal management of SOFCs (solid oxide fuel cell) is important for helping to minimise high temperature-related performance losses and maximising cell/stack lifetime. Thin film sensor technology is proposed as an excellent candidate to measure the cell temperature during operation due to its negligible mass, minimal disturbance to normal operation and higher temporal and spatial resolutions. However, the effective application of such sensors in SOFC systems is a challenging endeavour and predicated on incorporating the external wire attachments to complete the electrical circuit. This is because of the high sensitivity of SOFC materials to any interference to operation, limited available space and harsh operating conditions. In this paper, a new concept of packaging external wire attachments to the thin film sensor is described to enable the integration of the sensor in the SOFC system. Temperature measurements have been monitored under OCV and operating condition with the thin film sensor directly from SOFC cathode surface via proposed spring-based wire connection, from room temperature to SOFC operating temperature. The impact of the parameters including contact resistance (Rc) between sensor pads and attached wire on monitored temperature has also been analysed with the contribution of conductive paste. High temporal and spatial resolutions have been obtained with the implemented sensor.
Project description:A cobalt-based thermoelectric compound Ca(3)Co(2)O(6) (CCO) has been developed as new cathode material with superior performance for intermediate-temperature (IT) solid-oxide fuel cell (SOFC). Systematic evaluation has been carried out. Measurement of thermal expansion coefficient (TEC), thermal-stress (?) and interfacial shearing stress (?) with the electrolyte show that CCO matches well with several commonly-used IT electrolytes. Maximum power density as high as 1.47 W cm(-2) is attained at 800°C, and an additional thermoelectric voltage of 11.7 mV is detected. The superior electrochemical performance, thermoelectric effect, and comparable thermal and mechanical behaviors with the electrolytes make CCO to be a promising cathode material for SOFC.
Project description:Yb3+ and Y3+ double doped ZrO? (8YSZ+4Yb?O?) samples were synthesized by a solid state reaction method. Moreover, 8YSZ+4Yb?O?-NaCl/KCl composites were also successfully produced at different temperatures. The 8YSZ+4Yb?O?, 8YSZ+4Yb?O?-NaCl/KCl (800 °C), and 8YSZ+4Yb?O?-NaCl/KCl (1000 °C) samples were characterized by x?ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results showed that a dense composite electrolyte was formed at a low temperature of 800 °C. The maximum conductivities of 4.7 × 10-2 S·cm-1, 6.1 × 10-1 S·cm-1, and 3.8 × 10-1 S·cm-1 were achieved for the 8YSZ+4Yb?O?, 8YSZ+4Yb?O?-NaCl/KCl (800 °C), and 8YSZ+4Yb?O?-NaCl/KCl (1000 °C) samples at 700 °C, respectively. The log?~log (pO?) plot result showed that the 8YSZ+4Yb?O?-NaCl/KCl (800 °C) composite electrolyte is a virtually pure ionic conductor. An excellent performance of the 8YSZ+4Yb?O?-NaCl/KCl (800 °C) composite was obtained with a maximum power density of 364 mW·cm-2 at 700 °C.
Project description:A core-shell anode consisting of nickel-gadolinium-doped-ceria (Ni-GDC) nanocubes was directly fabricated by a chemical process in a solution containing a nickel source and GDC nanocubes covered with highly reactive {001} facets. The cermet anode effectively generated a Ni metal framework even at 500?°C with the growth of the Ni spheres. Anode fabrication at such a low temperature without any sintering could insert a finely nanostructured layer close to the interface between the electrolyte and the anode. The maximum power density of the attractive anode was 97?mW?cm(-2), which is higher than that of a conventional NiO-GDC anode prepared by an aerosol process at 55?mW?cm(-2) and 600?°C, followed by sintering at 1300?°C. Furthermore, the macro- and microstructure of the Ni-GDC-nanocube anode were preserved before and after the power-generation test at 700?°C. Especially, the reactive {001} facets were stabled even after generation test, which served to reduce the activation energy for fuel oxidation successfully.
Project description:A series of strontium titanates-vanadates (STVN) with nominal cation composition Sr1-xTi1-y-zVyNizO3-δ (x = 0-0.04, y = 0.20-0.40 and z = 0.02-0.12) were prepared by a solid-state reaction route in 10% H2-N2 atmosphere and characterized under reducing conditions as potential fuel electrode materials for solid oxide fuel cells. Detailed phase evolution studies using XRD and SEM/EDS demonstrated that firing at temperatures as high as 1200 °C is required to eliminate undesirable secondary phases. Under such conditions, nickel tends to segregate as a metallic phase and is unlikely to incorporate into the perovskite lattice. Ceramic samples sintered at 1500 °C exhibited temperature-activated electrical conductivity that showed a weak p(O2) dependence and increased with vanadium content, reaching a maximum of ~17 S/cm at 1000 °C. STVN ceramics showed moderate thermal expansion coefficients (12.5-14.3 ppm/K at 25-1100 °C) compatible with that of yttria-stabilized zirconia (8YSZ). Porous STVN electrodes on 8YSZ solid electrolytes were fabricated at 1100 °C and studied using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy at 700-900 °C in an atmosphere of diluted humidified H2 under zero DC conditions. As-prepared STVN electrodes demonstrated comparatively poor electrochemical performance, which was attributed to insufficient intrinsic electrocatalytic activity and agglomeration of metallic nickel during the high-temperature synthetic procedure. Incorporation of an oxygen-ion-conducting Ce0.9Gd0.1O2-δ phase (20-30 wt.%) and nano-sized Ni as electrocatalyst (≥1 wt.%) into the porous electrode structure via infiltration resulted in a substantial improvement in electrochemical activity and reduction of electrode polarization resistance by 6-8 times at 900 °C and ≥ one order of magnitude at 800 °C.
Project description:Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) are inevitably affected by the tensile stress field imposed by the rigid substrate during constrained sintering, which strongly affects microstructural evolution and flaw generation in the fabrication process and subsequent operation. In the case of sintering a composite cathode, one component acts as a continuous matrix phase while the other acts as a dispersed phase depending upon the initial composition and packing structure. The clustering of dispersed particles in the matrix has significant effects on the final microstructure, and strong rigidity of the clusters covering the entire cathode volume is desirable to obtain stable pore structure. The local constraints developed around the dispersed particles and their clusters effectively suppress generation of major process flaws, and microstructural features such as triple phase boundary and porosity could be readily controlled by adjusting the content and size of the dispersed particles. However, in the fabrication of the dense electrolyte layer via the chemical solution deposition route using slow-sintering nanoparticles dispersed in a sol matrix, the rigidity of the cluster should be minimized for the fine matrix to continuously densify, and special care should be taken in selecting the size of the dispersed particles to optimize the thermodynamic stability criteria of the grain size and film thickness. The principles of constrained sintering presented in this paper could be used as basic guidelines for realizing the ideal microstructure of SOFCs.