Towards the Next Generation of Solid Oxide Fuel Cells Operating Below 600 °C with Chemically Stable Proton‐Conducting Electrolytes

Abstract

The need for reducing the solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) operating temperature below 600 °C is imposed by cost reduction, which is essential for widespread SOFC use, but might also disclose new applications. To this aim, high-temperature proton-conducting (HTPC) oxides have gained widespread interest as electrolyte materials alternative to oxygen-ion conductors. This Progress Report describes recent developments in electrolyte, anode, and cathode materials for protonic SOFCs, addressing the issue of chemical stability, processability, and good power performance below 600 °C. Different fabrication methods are reported for anode-supported SOFCs, obtained using state-of-the-art, chemically stable proton-conducting electrolyte films. Recent findings show significant improvements in the power density output of cells based on doped barium zirconate electrolytes, pointing out towards the feasibility of the next generation of protonic SOFCs, including a good potential for the development of miniaturized SOFCs as portable power supplies.

Processing and characterizations of a novel proton-conducting BaCe0.35Zr0.50Y0.15O3-δ electrolyte and its nickel-based anode composite for anode-supported IT-SOFC

“…Figure 13 shows the currentvoltage-power (I-V-P) characteristic curve of the cell obtained at 650°C and it exhibits that the power density of the cell is about 6 mW/cm 2 . Comparing to the power density (2.35 mW/cm 2 at 900°C) of protonic SOFC based on Y-doped Barium zirconate (BZY) reported elsewhere [25], the performance of the present anodesupported cell is better but it is still much lower than that observed by Fabbri et al [26] in case of electrolyte supported protonic SOFC cells. Figure 14a, b shows the cross-sectional image of cell before and after test.…”

Effects of H2O and CO2on Electrochemical Behaviors of BSCF Cathode for Proton Conducting IT-SOFC

“…4 . [18][19][20][21][22] Ba 0.5 Sr 0.5 Co 0.8 Fe 0.2 O 3-δ (BSCF), which is considered to be one of the most active cathode materials for oxide ion conducting IT-SOFC, 23 could also be a promising cathode material for proton conducting IT-SOFC because of its capability of undertaking significant amount of water and becoming proton conductive at intermediate temperature of ∼600…”

Theoretical modeling of defect segregation and space-charge formation in the BaZrO3 (210)[001] tilt grain boundary

“…Acceptor-doped BaZrO 3 is both chemically stable and highly proton conducting and could therefore be suitable as the electrolyte material in intermediate temperature solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) [1,2]. However, sintered BaZrO 3 is polycrystalline and the conductivity of that material is orders of magnitude lower due to resistance at the grain boundaries (GBs) [1,3,4].…”